About Me
Christina Pasparakis, PhD
Assistant Professor
UC Davis, Department of Environmental Toxicology Bodega Marine Laboratory
cpasparakis@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Christina Pasparakis is an assistant professor in the Environmental Toxicology Department at University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. The long-term goal of her research is to investigate the molecular and physiological mechanisms that allow organisms to cope with environmental stressors, including both anthropogenic and natural stressors. Her research aims to investigate how stressor and toxin exposure in early life stages of local fish and invertebrate species translate to sublethal effects at later life stages. Specifically, Dr. Pasparakis is interested in the interactive and synergistic effects of ultraviolet radiation and toxin exposure.
During her PhD and first postdoctoral position at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), Christina studied the sublethal effects of crude oil exposure from the DWH disaster of 2010, in combination with multiple additional environmentally relevant stressors, such as high temperature and ultraviolet radiation on the early life stages of mahi-mahi, Coryphaena hippurus. Her research also focuses on the mechanisms behind embryonic buoyancy control and how different stressors known to occur in surface waters affect embryonic buoyancy throughout development.
During her second postdoc at UC Davis with Anne Todgham and Nann Fangue, Christina investigated the physiological responses of the endangered longfin (Spirinchus thaleichthys) and delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) to environmentally relevant conditions, such as varying turbidities and temperatures. This research is aimed to better inform conservation management decisions in hopes to ensure a sustainable future for these species.
Christina obtained her PhD in Marine Biology and Ecology in 2018 in Martin Grosell’s lab at the University of Miami (RSMAS). She received her MSc at San Francisco State University under the supervision of Anne Todgham, where she explored heat hardening in the intertidal, fingered limpet, Lottia digitalis.
