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Maria S Sepúlveda

Assoc. Professor of Ecology of Natural Systems

Department: Forestry and Natural Resources
Phone: 765.494.3428
Fax: 765.496.2422
Office: FORS 103
E-mail: mssepulv@purdue.edu
Personal Web Page

Area of Expertise: Ecology of Natural Systems
Curriculum Vitae
 

Research Group Facilities Areas of Excellence Related Centers
Dr. Maria ("Marisol") Sepúlveda’s main area of research is ecotoxicology.  Over the last decade, she has conducted extensive research evaluating the sublethal effects of a wide-range of environmental contaminants on the physiology of numerous terrestrial and aquatic species.  For instance, she has worked with heavy metals (mercury), complex industrial mixtures (paper mill effluents), herbicides and pesticides (e.g. atrazine, dieldrin, DDT and derivatives, and toxaphene), and industrial pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons).  In terms of species, although most of her work has been focused using vertebrates (including marine mammals, birds, and fishes) as animal models, Dr. Sepúlveda has recently began research with aquatic invertebrates (Hyalella and Diporeia). 

Within the field of ecotoxicology, Dr. Sepúlveda’s main area of interest involves studying the potential health effects of environmental contaminants in populations of free-ranging fish and wildlife.  Specifically, Dr. Sepúlveda’s research has focused on understanding the effects of pollutants on reproduction and early life-stage development.  Besides examining whole animal and tissue-level responses to environmental contaminants, in recent years Dr. Sepúlveda has began investigating the effects of chemicals at the sub-cellular and molecular levels.  In fact, since her arrival to Purdue, she has incorporated the use of proteomics and genomics in her research.  In collaboration with other Purdue faculty, Dr. Sepúlveda is also in the process of developing other novel biomarkers of exposure and effects to environmental stressors such as “physiomics” and “metabolomics”.

Dr. Sepúlveda also studies diseases in fish and wildlife.  Her strong background in veterinary medicine has helped her apply many diagnostic tools in the assessment and evaluation of health status in free-ranging fish and wildlife.  Dr. Sepúlveda has conducted several studies evaluating the parasitic helminthofauna and related health effects in marine mammals and aquatic birds.  She has also developed baseline hematological and blood chemistry parameters for a fish and a marine mammal species.   

Dr. Sepúlveda has over 35 peer-reviewed manuscripts published in the areas of ecotoxicology and wildlife diseases, and has presented her work at dozens of international meetings.
 

- Recent Publications

Li, Z., Kroll, K. J., Jensen, K. M., Villenueve, D. L., Ankley, G. T., Brian, J. V., . . . Watanabe, K. H. (2011). A computational model of the hypothalamic: pituitary: gonadal axis in female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to 17a-ethynylestradiol and 17ß-trenbolone.. BMC Genomics, 5, 63.

Maity, S., Jannasch, A., Adamec, J., Nalepa, T. F., Hook, T. O., & Sepúlveda, M. S. (2011). Starvation causes disturbance in amino acid and fatty acid metabolism in Diporeia spp. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B.

Ralston-Hopper, K., Sanchez, B. C., Jannash, A., Adamec, J., & Sepúlveda, M. S. (2011). Proteomics in aquatic amphipods: Can it be used to determine mechanisms of toxicity and interspecies responses after exposure to atrazine?. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, (30), 1197-1203.

Sanchez, B. C., Ralston-Hooper, K., & Sepúlveda, M. S. (2011). A review of recent proteomic applications in aquatic toxicology.. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry., (30), 274-282.

Baumgarner, B. L., Riley, C. P., Sepúlveda, M. S., Paul, P. B., Meyer, J. L., & Adamec, J. (2011). Increased expression of GAPDH protein is not indicative of nitrosative stress or apoptosis in liver of starved rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish Physiology and Biochemistry.

Ralston-Hooper, K. J., Adamec, J., Jannasch, A., Mollenhauer, R., Ochoa-Acuña, H., & Sepúlveda, M. S. (2011). Use of GCxGC/TOF-MS and LC/TOF-MS for metabolomic analysis of Hyalella azteca chronically exposed to atrazine and Its primary metabolite, desethylatrazine.. Journal of Applied Toxicology, (31), 399-410.

Sanchez, B. C., Carter, B. J., Hammers, H. R., & Sepúlveda, M. S. (2011). Transcriptional response of hepatic largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) mRNA upon exposure to environmental contaminants. Journal of Applied Toxicology, (31), 108-116.

Sepúlveda, M. S., Leet, J., & Gall, H. (2011). A review of studies on androgen and estrogen exposure in fish early life stages: effects on gene and hormonal control of sexual differentiation. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 31, 379-398.

Maity, S., Jannasch, A., Adamec, J., Gribskov, M., Nalepa, T. F., Hook, T. O., & Sepúlveda, M. S. (2011). Metabolite profiles in starved Diporeia spp. using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based metabolomics. Journal of Crustacean Biology.

Ryan, D. J., Sepúlveda, M. S., Nalepa, T. F., & Hook, T. O. (2011). Spatial variation in RNA:DNA ratios of Diporeia spp. in the Great Lakes region. Journal of Great Lakes Research.
 

+ Patents
 

- Awards & Honors

Appointed to the Editorial of Critical Reviews in Environmental Sciences and Technology (2010). Critical Reviews in Environmental Sciences and Technology.

Appointed as Board Member for 3 years (2009). Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Appointed to the Editorial Board (2009). Journal of Applied Toxicology.

 

+ News Releases
   
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