AMALIA MARIE ARUDA
45 Water Street MS-33, Woods Hole MA 02540
Work: 508.289.3725
Email: aaruda@whoi.edu
MAJOR RESEARCH INTERESTS:
I am interested in host-epibiont interactions in the marine environment,
particularly the role that zooplankton play in shaping the community composition and
activity of their bacterial flora. I use a combination of molecular tools, laboratory
manipulations, and field observations to identify the pathways involved in the copepod
response to a range of Vibrio associations.
My passion for promoting the effective communication of science is driven by the
belief that a great scientist not only conducts significant research, but also successfully
conveys the applicability of their findings to the scientific community and the public.
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Candidate, MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2009-2014
Joint Program in Biological Oceanography
(expected)
Proposed area of study: Impacts of host response on copepod-epibacteria interactions
Advisor: Ann Tarrant, Ph.D.
Thesis Committee: Martin Polz (MIT), Tracy Mincer (WHOI), Mark Baumgartner
(WHOI), Rita Colwell (UMD)
B.S., Biology (Environmental Science minor), Georgetown University
2009
Magna cum Laude.
Thesis title: “Molecular Components of the Diapause Response in the Asian Tiger
Mosquito Aedes albopictus”
Advisor: Peter Armbruster, Ph.D.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Graduate Research Assistant, Biology Department, WHOI
2009 Investigating the response of copepod hosts to associated epibiota and how factors
such as programmed changes in the host physiology (i.e. diapause) and external
factors (i.e. endocrine disrupting pollutants) may affect such interactions
Summer Fellow, Biology Department, WHOI
2008
 Completed an independent research project on the molecular characterization of
heat shock proteins in the diapause of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus
Co-founder, rE-cycle, Georgetown University
Spring 2008
 Led a student group that raised awareness about electronic waste and lobbied for a
national electronics recycling program to target college campuses
Intern, Public Affairs Office, Ecological Society of America (ESA)
Jan.-May 2008
 Selected and funded by the Georgetown Program on Science in the Public Interest
to work with the ESA to communicate ecological knowledge to policy makers and
members of the media
Lab Assistant, Ecological Genetics Lab, Georgetown University
2007-2009

Researched the molecular mechanisms regulating diapause in the mosquito Aedes
albopictus
Guest Student, Biology Department, WHOI
Summer 2006
 Assisted with an investigation of the molecular components of diapause in the
copepod C. finmarchicus
Lab Assistant, Ecology Lab, Georgetown University
2005- 2006
Research Intern, Oyster Aquaculture Farm, Wellfleet, MA
Summer 2003, 2004
PUBLICATIONS:
Aruda AM, Baumgartner MF, Reitzel AM, Tarrant AM (2011). Heat shock protein
expression during stress and diapause in the marine copepod Calanus
finmarchicus. J Insect Physiol 5:665-75.
Urbanski JM, Aruda A, Armbruster P (2010). A transcriptional element of the diapause
program in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, identified by suppressive
subtractive hybridization. J Insect Physiol 56:1147-1154.
POSTERS:
September 2011. “No such thing as a free ride? The copepod response to Vibrio
hitchhikers”. EPA Science to Achieve Results Conference. Washington, DC.
SELECTED HONORS:
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellow
Honorable Mention NSF Graduate Fellowship
Clare Boothe Luce Scholar
Georgetown Howard Hughes Research Scholar
Henry David Thoreau Environmental Scholar
Wellfleet Shellfish Promotion and Tasting (SPAT) grant
Fall 2012-2014
Fall 2010-2012
2009
2007- 2009
2005- 2009
2005- 2009
2005
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:
Sigma Xi, MIT
American Association for the Advancement in Science (AAAS)
Program for Excellence in Science
Sigma Xi, Georgetown University
ADDITIONAL TRAINING:
Advanced Sequencing Technologies, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
C-MORE/COMPASS Science Communication workshop, MIT
Microbial Diversity summer course, Marine Biological Laboratory
WHOI Tropical Ecology Course, Liquid Jungle Lab, Panama
Scuba Schools International (SSI) certified SCUBA diver, MIT
Fundamentals of Science/Technology/Public Policy-Making Workshop, MIT
Marine Resources Population Dynamics Workshop,
National Marine Fisheries Service and Virginia Tech
20092009
2008-2009
2012
2011
2011
2011
2010
2010
2009
FIELD EXPERIENCE:
Participating Scientist. Field & laboratory study of Calanus finmarchicus diapause gene
expression and epibacteria. Trondheim, Norway. May 14 -June 14 2012. Chief Scientists:
Ann Tarrant & Mark Baumgartner.
Participating Scientist. Delaware II, cruise: Northern Right Whale Survey 2010. Georges
Bank, USA. May 3-26 2010. Chief Scientist: Lisa Conger.
Participating Scientist. Tioga. Georges Bank, USA. November 29 2011. Chief Scientists:
Gareth Lawson & Houshou Jiang.
ACADEMIC SERVICE:
MIT/WHOI Joint Program Student Government, Biology Student representative and
Treasurer
2011-2012
Georgetown University Alumni Interviewer
2010“Plankton and Foodwebs” Course consultant, Madawaska, ME
Spring 2011