14 JUNE 2013 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG Spotlight Awards As a triennial meeting, Aquaculture 2013 attracted a large number of students. Prior to the conference, student abstracts were evaluated to determine top student scholarly submissions from each society. Eight student scholars were invited to present at the Student Spotlight Seminar, which consisted of abbreviated versions of their presentations. A panel of judges was formed from executive committee members of the societies represented at the meeting. The reduction in presentation time and number of slides challenged students to present their work in concise and novel ways. The winner of the Spotlight Competition received $500 with the second and third place winners each receiving $200. The winner of the 2013 Student Spotlight presentations was Tyler Frankel. Tyler’s presentation was titled, “The Effect of Freezing Rate on the Quality of Striped Bass Morone saxatilis Spermatozoa.” He is currently a second-year M.S. student in the Animal and Avian Sciences Department at the University of Maryland-College Park and plans to continue to work towards a Ph.D. in the field of endocrine disruption in fishes. A native of Sliver Springs, Maryland, Tyler’s initial interest in fish biology originated from his childhood experiences with local rivers and lakes. The second place honor went to Mackenzie Gavery, who is currently conducting graduate research at the University of Washington on shellfish molecular and cellular responses to the environment. Mackenzie’s presentation title was “Characterization of DNA Methylation as a Source of Epigenetic Regulation in the Pacific Oyster.” After completing her undergraduate degree, she moved to Seattle to pursue a career in the biotech industry. Although she Student Awards at Aquaculture 2013 loves the Midwest and her home state of Nebraska, she feels lucky to be able to live and work in a place as beautiful as Puget Sound. Maria Rosa received the third place award for her work at the University of Connecticut. Her presentation title was “Biofouling Tunicates on Aquaculture Gear as Potential Vectors of Harmful Algal Introductions.” Maria completed her M.S. in Oceanography in 2011 and is currently working towards a Ph.D. that focuses on bivalve physiology and feeding mechanisms, with a few forays into invasive ascidians along the way. Maria uses field and laboratory studies to integrate research on her focal organisms. Originally growing up in New York City, Marie first became interested in science and aquatic life from watching the Day in the Life segments on the “Reading Rainbow.” WAS – Oral Presentation and Poster Awards • Best Presentation ($400) – Carlin Fenn, Insulin-like Growth Factor Regulation in Scaphirhynchus Sturgeon • Second Place Best Presentation ($200) – Miguel Mies, Occurrence of Symbiosis between the Zooxanthella Sybiodinium sp. and the Veliger Larva of the Giant Clam Tridacna maxima (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae) • Best Poster ($400) – Kristen Dieterle and Ariel E. Gallo, The Feasibility of Pond Culture of Young-of-the-Year Paddlefish Polyodon spathula in New York State • Second Place Best Poster ($200) – Celene Navarro, Optimizing Cholesterol and n-3 HUFA Levels in Muscle of Pacific White Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei Fed a “Wash Out” and “Finishing” Diets LEFT: Tyler Frankel assessing spermatozoa quality with a CASA unit in his team’s laboratory. MIDDLE: Mackenzie Gavery enjoying a sunny day of data collection. RIGHT: Maria Rosa braving the cold while conducting sampling.
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