Eduardo E. Zattara Graduate Student Advisor: Dr. Alexa Bely Program in Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics 1210 Biology/Psychology Bldg University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 USA email: phone: lab: ezattara @ umd . edu (remove spaces within address) (301) 405-0239 / -0453 (lab) 0249 Biology/Psychology bldg

Previous Education:

Licenciate in Biological Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Comahue (Argentina)

Research Interests:

At present, I’m doing groundwork research on the morphogenetic events that lead to the regeneration of amputated anterior or posterior ends of amputated naidin worms. In parallel, I’m following the morphogenesis of these same structures inside the fission zones that occur naturally under good feeding conditions. Along with regular bright-field microscopy and differential interference contrast (DIC) optics, antibodies and other molecules conjugated with fluorescent tags allow for visualization of the main structures of the worm’s head and posterior end. Once the morphological framework is set, it is possible to dive into the dissection of the mechanisms that underlie them, using targeted chemical disruption and genetic analysis.

My main objective is to find out the steps required to set the stage for regeneration and fission, namely, how an adult worm forms a mass of multipotent cells out of differentiated tissues, how it organizes that mass into segments, and why some species seem to have lost this ability after a traumatic cut, but not during fission.

Past research and ever-present interests:

I have a long standing interest in Evolutionary Biology as a whole, and particularly on the ways that alterations in gene expression regulation during development result in evolutionary changes and novelties. I believe that integrating knowledge of developmental processes is the key to achieving a really solid and all-encompassing evolutionary synthesis.

I have research experience (and still current interest) in population biology and phylogeography, and also in the field of fisheries management. As part of my undergrad studies, I studied isozymic and morphological variation in several populations of a small freshwater fish species, and related it to the study area's geomorphologic history since the Last Glacial Maximum. Also, I worked for two years in a lake fisheries research group doing fish population evaluations, and building up spatial models that benefited from GIS and remote sensing technologies.

Publications:

Zattara, E.E. & Premoli, A.C . 2005. Genetic structuring in Andean landlocked populations of Galaxias maculatus : effects of biogeographic history. Journal of Biogeography 32 : 5-14

Awards:

2006	Darwin Fellowship Award, BEES Program, UMD
2003	Dr. Gregorio Alvarez Scholarship for Initiation on Research, Universidad Nacional del Comahue
2002	Dr. Manuel Belgrano Gold Medal, granted by the Universidad Nacional del Comahue