Erika del Castillo

Predoctoral Investigator

Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology & Evolution

Marine Biological Laboratory

Woods Hole, MA 02543

 

PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION

1988      B. Sc Marine Biology. Marine Science Faculty, Autonomous University of Baja California. Advisors: Carlos Granados, Luis Enrique García-Pámanes, Luis Fernando Bückle. B.Sc Thesis Research: “Mariculture potential of the rock scallop Hinnites multirugosus.

1992      M.Sc Marine Biology and Ecology. Center of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies of Ensenada, B.C. Advisor: Dr. Blanca Claudia Farfán. M.Sc. Thesis: “Hydrobiology of the salt pond La Salina, Baja California”

2007      Ph.D. Candidate Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Department. Aquatic Toxicology. University of Massachusetts Boston. Advisor: Dr. William E. Robinson. Ph.D. Thesis: The role of metallothionein in the modulation of oxidative DNA damage in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis L.

 

1986-1988                Data Analyst Instituto Nacional de la Pesca, SEMARNAT (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales- Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources) Statistical analysis. B.Sc Student.

1986-1992                 Research Assistant CICESE. Microalgae and gastropod cultures maintenance; metabolism studies in the California bubble marine gastropod Bulla gouldiana. B.Sc. Student and M.Sc. student.

1992-1994.                CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations) reports English to Spanish translation. Technician zooplankton identification (Scripps Institution of Oceanography SIO). Spanish Tutor, Linguistics Department, University of California San Diego.

1994-1995                 Guest Investigator Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Implementation of a single cell gel electrophoresis assay in blood cells of the soft-shelled clam Mya arenaria.

1995-1997.                Research Assistant UMASS-Boston Protein purification: Metallothionein purification in nuclei and cytosol of various organs in blue mussels Mytilus edulis. extraction and purification of histidine rich glycoprotein (HRG) in mussels’ plasma.

1997-2000.                Teaching Assistant UMASS Boston Medical Microbiology Laboratory (Biology Department-Undergraduate Level); Issues in Environmental Science (Environmental Sciences Department -Undergraduate Level); Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory (EEOS Department -Graduate Level).

2004--2006               NSF Graduate Teaching Fellow in K-12 Education (GK-12)) Fellow. NSF Watershed- Integrated Sciences Partnership (WISP) between UMass Boston and Local School Districts” (Environmental Health Issues lesson plans development, assessment and incorporation to Science curriculum). Collaboration research project “Analysis of metal binding proteins by Laser Ablation and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)”.

2006-2007                 Research Assistant I [COHH] at the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution. Collaboration in the NIH-NSF-COHH project that examines the diversity, distribution and persistence of human pathogens in the coastal marine environment of Mt. Hope Bay, Massachusetts.

 

PUBLICATIONS

1.     Stewart, J.R., R.J. Gast, R.S. Fujioka, H.M. Solo-Gabriele, J.S. Meschke, L. A. Amara-Zettler, E. Del Castillo, M.F. Polz, T.K. Collier, M.S. Strom, C.D. Sinigalliano, P.D.R. Moeller, and A. F. Holland. The Coastal environment and human health: microbial indicators, pathogens, sentinels and reservoirs. Environmental Health Submitted 2007.

2.    Del Castillo, E. and W.E. Robinson. Nuclear and cytosolic distribution of metallothionein in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Submitted 2007.

3.    Sukola, K.R., L. Li, F. Pala, G.T. Wallace, W. Robinson, E. Del Castillo 2006. Use of LA-ICP-MS to detect and analyze metal-binding proteins from the marine mussel Mytlus edulis. Eos Transactions 87 (36) Ocean Science Meeting.

4.   Del Castillo Arias, E., B. Farfan. 1997 Hydrobiology of a salt pan from the Peninsula of Baja California, Mexico. International Journal of Salt Lake Research 6 (3): 233-248.