CURRENT PROJECT
Deriving pesticide water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life in California Central Valley Waterways

DISSERTATION PROJECT
Reduction of vitellogenin synthesis by an AhR agonist in the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontamus).

California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) bioassay for detection of endocrine disrupting contaminants along the California coast.

EDUCATION
Ph.D., Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, University of California, Davis, 2/2008
Advisor: Ron Tjeerdema, Department of Environmental Toxicology
Dissertation: Vitellogenin, A Marker of Estrogen Mimicking Contaminants in Fishes: Characterization, Quantification and Interference by Anti-Estrogens

B.S., Chemistry, The Ohio State University, 2001
magna cum laude and with distinction (for completion of an undergraduate thesis) GPA 3.66 / 4.0

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Postdoctoral Researcher/Research Assistant: UC Davis, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 4/01/2007-present. Contract with the California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

• Deriving water quality criteria: finding and reviewing studies on pesticide toxicity to aquatic organisms, evaluating study quality, compiling and analyzing data, summarizing findings in written reports.
• Responding to public review comments: reviewing appropriate documents, contacting and consulting with experts, writing responses to comments from stake holders, revising documents accordingly.
• Project Manager: writing quarterly progress reports, hiring and training new personnel.

Doctoral Research: UC Davis, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 3/2003-2/2008

• Conceived and developed research investigating effect of binary mixture of chemicals with opposing mechanisms: chemicals with estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects
• Purified and characterized protein of interest, vitellogenin, for use as an analytical standard
• Optimized analytical methods for measuring protein of interest
• Developed bioassay for studying endocrine disruption in California flatfish and white sturgeon

Research Assistant: UC Davis, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 9/2001-3/2003

• Investigated degradation and fate of herbicides used in rice paddies and the toxicity of the herbicide and by-product to rice.

Independent Research/Student Research Assistant: The Ohio State University, Department of Chemistry 9/1999-8/2001

• P.I.: Dr. Patrick Hatcher, Department of Chemistry
• Performed routine analyses using GC MS and GC FID. Completed independent research project comparing analytical methods for measuring proteinaceous material in soils
  
  

SKILLS
Computing: Microsoft Word, Power Point, EXCEL, and internet applications
Writing: Able to write clearly and concisely resulting in publications, abstracts accepted to national conferences, compliance with lab safety and animal use protocol requirements
Laboratory: Routinely performed the following:

• Fish Toxicity Tests: fish handling, husbandry, injection, blood draw.
• Animal research, in accordance with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
• Microtiter, 96-well plate assays: enzyme linked -immunosorbent assay (ELISA), protein assay, enzyme activity assay. Optimization and validation of an ELISA.
• Column chromatography, gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, soil extraction, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry
  

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Associate-In: Career Discovery Program, UC Davis, Science and Society Department, Spring 2007
Teaching Assistant: UC Davis, Chemistry and Environmental Toxicology Departments, Spring 2003 - Winter 2007

• Introduction to Environmental Toxicology, ETX 30, Winter 2007
• General Chemistry 2C, Spring 2006
• Introduction to Environmental Toxicology, ETX 10, Spring 2005, Autumn 2006
• General Chemistry 2B, Spring 2003
  

PUBLICATIONS
Palumbo AJ, Koivunen M, Tjeerdema RS (in press) Optimization and validation of a California halibut environmental estrogen bioassay using a heterologous ELISA. Science of the Total Environment.

Palumbo AJ, Linares-Casenave J, Jewell W, Doroshov SI, Tjeerdema RS (2007) Induction and partial characterization of California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) vitellogenin. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A Mol. Integr. Physiol. 146: 200-207.

Gunasekara AS, TenBrook PL, Palumbo AJ, Johnson CS, Tjeerdema RS (2005) Influence of Phosphate and Copper on Reductive Dechlorination of Thiobencarb in California Rice Field Soils. J. Agric. Food Chem. 53: 10113 -10119.

Palumbo AJ, TenBrook PL, Phipps A, Tjeerdema RS (2004) Comparative Toxicity of Thiobencarb and Deschlorothiobencarb to Rice (Oryza sativa). Bulletin of Environ. Contamin. Tox. 73: 213-218.

Zang X, Brown JC, van Heemst JDH, Palumbo A, Hatcher PG (2001) Characterization of amino acids and proteinaceous materials using online tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique. J. Anal. Applied Pyrolsis. 61:181-193.

PRESENTATIONS
AJ Palumbo, RS Tjeerdema. "Can one contaminant reduce the toxicity of another? A mixture of endocrine disruptors in white sturgeon." Poster presented at the 2007 Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI:

AJ Palumbo, RS Tjeerdema. "Can one contaminant reduce the toxicity of another? A mixture of endocrine disruptors in white sturgeon." Poster presented at the 2007 Northern California Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry annual meeting, Berkeley, CA
Awarded third place student poster presentation.

AJ Palumbo, RS Tjeerdema. "Can one contaminant reduce the toxicity of another? A mixture of endocrine disruptors in white sturgeon." Poster presented at the 2006 Northern California Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry annual meeting, Davis, CA.
Awarded second place student poster presentation.

AJ Palumbo, M Koivunen, RS Tjeerdema. "Development of an endocrine disruptor bioassay using induction of vitellogenin in California halibut (Paralychthys Californicus) and preliminary evaluation of cadmium." Poster presented at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America Annual Meeting, 2005, Baltimore, MD

AJ Palumbo, M Koivunen, RS Tjeerdema. "Development of an endocrine disruptor bioassay using induction of vitellogenin in California halibut (Paralychthys Californicus) and preliminary evaluation of cadmium." Poster presented at the 2005 Society of Toxicology national annual meeting, San Diego, CA.

AJ Palumbo, J Linares, RS Tjeerdema. "Development of an endocrine disruptor bioassay using induction of vitellogenin in male California halibut (Paralychthys californicus)." Poster presented at the 2004 Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry World Congress/ North America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR

HONORS
Postdoctoral Travel Award, UC Davis Postdoctoral Association (2008)
Jastro-Shields Graduate Research Scholarship, UC Davis (2005, 2006)
University Fellowship, UC Davis (2001)
Honors Scholarship (2001): aid for assisting completion of honors research project
University Scholar(1996): academic award that includes a scholarship