612 S.

Pierce Street, New Orleans, LA 70119; (504) 439-5587

tsantonastaso@gmail.com www.fakewoods/weebly.com

TRENT SANTONASTASO
EDUCATION:

BIOSKETCH:

University of New Orleans (UNO)

PhD, Conservation Biology - in
progress
Northeastern IL University (NEIU)
MS Ecology - 2009
Pennsylvania State University
BS Biology - 1994

Trent Santonastaso is a population geneticist who has been involved in

research of natural history and conservation ecology for over 15 years with a
variety of non-profits including the Field Museum of Natural History
(FMNH), The Chicago Academy of Sciences (CAS), The Chicago Zoological
Society (CZS) and The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). His
work has focused on evolutionary and ecological implications of
anthropogenic influences on wild populations and solutions for maintaining
biodiversity in an ever developing world. His interests moving forward are
focused on urban ecology and the interaction between urban wildlife and
human populations. Trents personal philosophy is that conservation and
green living is a lifestyle, not a fad or an academic pursuit. He is therefore
dedicated to alternative forms of transportation, power use, and logistics; and
advocating for life-styles that can reduce our individual carbon footprints.

GRANTS & AWARDS:

2014 Grant in Support of Training in
Haemosporidian Research
MalariaRCN, $900
2012 Grants in Aid of Research
SICB, $1,000
2012 Graduate Student
Enhancement Award
UNO, $1,000
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
Society for Conservation Biology
2011, 2014 - present
American Genetics Association
2014 - present
Society for Integrative and
Conservation Biology
2011, 2014 - present
American Society of Parasitology
2014 - present
Society for the Study of Evolution
2014 - present
Society for Urban Ecology
2014 - present
New Orleans Camera Club
2013 - present
New Orleans Concert Band
2011 present
CERTIFICATIONS AND TRAINING
FISH
GIS
Geneious
R Programming platform/GUI
Photoshop
Scribus
Darkroom Photography
Animal Care and Use (CITI
program)
Radiation Handling and Safety

SELECTED RESEARCH:
January 2014 - present
Saba Island, Netherlands Caribbean
Host-parasite co-evolution of Anolis sabanus and Plasmodium congenerics
Working with Dr. Susan Perkins of the American Museum of Natural History,
evaluating immunogenetic allele frequencies in relation to Plasmodium spp.
presence in A. sabanus across a ten year sampling period.
January 2012 - present
Pittsburgh, PA
Gene identification and MHC mapping in Anolis carolinensis
Working with Dr. Michael Seaman-Jansen of Duquesne University,
Pittsburgh, PA, we probed the BAC library and sequenced five BACs to place
MHC loci on the A. carolinensis genome.
June 2011 - present
Cyclades, Greece
Evaluating bottleneck history on MHC in Podarcis. erhardii
In conjunction with Johannes Foufopolous (University of Michigan) and Cock
van Oosterhaut (University of East Anglia), we sequenced the MHC peptide
binding region in P. erhardii across naturally replicated bottlenecks in the
Cyclades, Greece and evaluated MHC diversity compared to microsatellites.
January 2012 - present
Mississippi, US
Modeling Apes spp. pollinator services on a managed pine plantation in
Southern Mississippi
We are developing the MABES pollinator services model in a non-agricultural
context on a landscape level. Trained maps will be used to inform best
management practices to maximize biodiversity across trophic levels.
January 2009 - December 2010
Chicago, IL
Calephelis mutica microsatellite library development
With Dr. Doug Taron at the Chicago Academy of Science, we enriched and
developed a nine-locus microsatellite library as a conservation resource in reintroducing C. mutica to Illinois prairies.
February 2008 - November 2008
Brookfield, IL
Parentage analysis of North American, captive Lemur catta population
With Dr. Jean Dubach, and working closely with L. catta studbookers, we
genotyped ~540 captive lemurs at 14 loci and constructed parentage history.

612 S. Pierce Street, New Orleans, LA 70119; (504) 439-5587

tsantonastaso@gmail.com www.fakewoods/weebly.com

TRENT SANTONASTASO
PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS:
Teaching Assistant,
2011 - present
Population Genetics, Ecology and
Evolution (PGEE), UNO, New
Orleans, LA
Lab Coordinator,
2013 - present
PGEE, UNO, New Orleans, LA
Research Tech II,
2009 - 2011
Pathcore, Northwestern, Chicago,
IL
Laboratory Manager
2009 - 2010
Genetics Laboratory, CAS
Chicago, IL
Laboratory Manager
2007 - 2008
Genetics Lab, CZS Brookfield, IL
Environmental Engineer 2006 - 2008
Gabriel Environmental Services,
Chicago, IL
Legal Research Asst.
2003 - 2006
Vedder Price, Chicago, IL
Env. Chemist II,
1994 - 1997
Environmental Monitoring &
Technologies, Morton Grove, IL
Bicycle Messenger
1997 - 2003
Chicago, IL
Cook
1991 - 1995
State College, PA
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Mentored two Undergraduate
Research and Mentoring (URM)
students
Mentored one high school honors
student (CZS)
Science writers club Founder
Iron Rail Book Collective
Board member
New Orleans Concert Band (NOCB)
Board member
Guerrilla music association
Founder
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Maintain Nauphoeta cinerea colony.
Maintain captive Anolis carolinensis
population.
Produced promotional pamphlet
for African, undergraduate field
course developed by Dr. Nicola
Anthony.
Built and maintained website for
NOCB
Mentor for people in recovery

February 2008 - November 2008

Brookfield, IL
Migration patterns of Panthera leo in central Africa
With Dr. Jean Dubach, we genotyped lion populations throughout central
Africa at 12 microsatellite loci to evaluate population structure and migration
patterns.
September 2006 - December 2009
Chicago, IL
Population structure of Procyon lotor across an extensive urban landscape.
Microsatellite analysis of population structure of the mesopredator raccoon to
model the spread of novel zoonotic disease such as rabies in an urban
environment.
PUBLICATIONS:
Santonastaso T, Foufopoulos J, Jones Kl, van Oosterhout C, and Anthony NM
The effects of bottleneck history on major histocompatibility complex variation in island
populations of the Aegean wall lizard Podarcis erhardii (in preparation).
Santonastaso TT, Dubach J, Hauver SA, Graser III W.H. and Gehrt SD (2012).
Microsatellite analysis of raccoon (Procyon lotor) population structure across an
extensive metropolitan landscape. Journal of Mammalogy. 93(3):447-455.
Taron DJ, Rieger MA, Santonastaso T, et al. (2011). Molecular ecology
resources primer development consortium, Permanent genetic resources
added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 April 2011 31 May 2011.
Mol. Ecol. Res., 11: 935-936.
Santonastaso T and Cuffey RJ (1995), Bryozoan nodules in the Bromide Formation
(Middle Ordovician) of South-Central Oklahoma. Ok. Geol. Notes, 55(4):162-163.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS:
Effects of population bottlenecks on MHC variation in Podarcis erhardii of the Greek
Aegean Islands, Eighth Annual Gulf Coast Conservation Biology Symposium,
Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species (ACRES),
New Orleans, LA; June 2013.
Building a career in conservation biology, UNO URM program, Spring 2013.
Modern approaches to KRAS testing for efficacy of cancer treatment, Northwestern
Pathcore departmental presentation, Winter 2011.
Population structure of Procyon lotor across an extensive urban landscape using
microsatellites. NEIU graduation curriculum, Chicago, IL, Fall 2009.
Differentiation among Sedum conspecifics as shown by the Internal Transcribed Spacer
(ITS) region. NEIU Symposium Spring 2006.
FIELD EXPERIENCE:
Co-Principal Investigator - Anolis sabanus blood parasite survey (capture and
release); with Dr. Susan Perkins, curator American Museum of Natural
History; Saba Island, Caribbean 2014.
Co-Principal Investigator - Apis spp. floral and nesting resources survey of managed
pine plantation in southwestern Mississippi; surveys along 500 m
transects, with Robinson Sudan PhD candidate UNO; Mississippi, US
2012 - present.
Field assistant Podarcis erhardii survey; capture and release, with Colin Donihue
PhD candidate Yale University; Aegean Islands, Greece 2013.