Invertebrate Zoologist/Entomologist

POORNIMA VISWANATHAN

+91-854******* (M)

********.****@*****.***

F2, 1st floor, Vyjayanthi Apts,

Madhavan Nair Road, Chalappuram

Kozhikode, Kerala 673 002. India.

OBJECTIVE:

To Contribute to Biodiversity Conservation through work opportunities in Entomology/Invertebrate Zoology.

EXPERIENCE

Survey of pollinators in farms to understand pollinator diversity in relation to distance from the forest: A CEPF-funded ‘Payment for Ecosystem Services’ study

Comprehending pollination-deficit in indigenous coffee plantations in the Nilgiris: An FAO-IPAFS supported project

Biodiversity assessments for third-party clientele, with special focus on invertebrates (3 projects)

Curatorial duties for the insect collection

Data-mining on south Asian butterflies to interpret threats and extinction risk of species based on the IUCN RedList criteria: An MBZ Species Conservation project

Nature Educator

WORK HISTORY

Subject Manager, Entomology, Pollination Research and Conservation Education,

Keystone Foundation, Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu, India Feb 2014 – Aug 2015

Research Associate & Technical Support, IUCN-MBZ project on south-Asian butterflies

Zoo Outreach Organization (Z.O.O.), Coimbatore, India Jul 2012-Apr 2013

oResearch (M.S.), Kansas State University, USA

Effect of Previous Feeding on Antibiosis Levels of Soybeans Aug 2008–May 2011

oResearch (M.Sc.), Madras Christian College, Chennai, India

Analysis of Ecdysterone in the naiads of the dragonfly, Bradinopyga geminata

using High Performance Liquid Chromatography Jan – Mar 2007

STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

IELTS, Oct 2015: Overall Average Score of 8.0/9.0 (L:9, R:7, W:7, S:8)

TOEFL, Test Of English as Foreign Language, July 2006: 280/300 with analytical writing score of 4.0/6.0

GRE, Graduate Record Examination, Oct 2006: V=540; Q=640 and writing score of 4.0/6.0

EDUCATION

MS Entomology, 2011 Kansas State University, Manhattan KS GPA: 3.54/4.00

Dissertation: Effect of Previous Feeding on Antibiosis Levels of Soybeans.

M.Sc Zoology, 2007 University of Madras, Chennai, India. GPA: 3.60/4.00

Dissertation: Analysis of Ecdysterone in the naiads of the dragonfly, Bradinopyga geminata

by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. (Published, March 2009)

B.Sc Zoology, 2005 University of Calicut, Kerala, India. GPA: 3.88/4.00

B.Sc. Group Project: Butterfly fauna of the Arts and Science College Campus, Calicut, India.

(Published, May 2006 – No authorship)

INDEPENDENT COURSEWORK

Forests and Humans: From the Mid-West to Madagascar

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Coursera, Oct 2015

Animal Behaviour and Welfare

The University of Edinburgh

Coursera, Sept 2014

Introduction to Psychology

University of Toronto

Coursera, Aug 2013

Cardiac Arrest, Hypothermia and Resuscitation Science

University of Pennsylvania

Coursera, Jul 2013

PUBLICATIONS

The Sahyadri Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation Teaching Guide. 2013. Zoo Outreach Organization, Coimbatore, India. (ISBN: 978-81-88722-35-8)

Murugan, M., Khan, S. A., Cardona, P. S., Orozco, G. V., Viswanathan, P., Reese, J., Starkey, S. and C. M. Smith. 2010. Variation of Resistance in Barley against Biotypes 1 and 2 of the Russian Wheat Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae), J. Econ. Entomol. 103(3): 938-948.

Poornima, V., Mathai, M. T. and Inbaraj, R. M. 2009. Analysis of Ecdysterone in Bradinopyga geminata (Rambur) larvae by Reverse Phase-High Performance Chromatography, RP-HPLC (Anisoptera: Libellulidae), Odonatologica 38(1): 61-65.

TRAININGS

National Workshop on Concepts and Practices in Ecology of Plant-Animal Interactions.

Central University of Kerala. Nileshwar, Kerala, India. May 2014

The Sahyadri Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation Education Training Workshop.

Zoo Outreach Organization. Karl Kubel Institute, Coimbatore, India. Feb 2013

National Training Workshop on Principles and Practices of Animal Taxonomy with Special Reference to Insects.

Zoological Survey of India, Calicut (WGRC), India. Feb-Mar 2012

Training Program on Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India. Feb 2012

PRESENTATIONS

oPoster: K-State Research Forum, 2010. Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.

oPoster: Annual Meeting of Entomological Society of America. December 13-16, 2009, Indianapolis, IN.

oPoster: National Symposium on Comparative Endocrinology and Reproductive physiology: Insights and challenges. November 26-28, 2007, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, India.

AWARDS

oP. J. Sanjeeva Raj Young Research Award for M.Sc Zoology, 2008, Madras Christian College.

oMHRD-UGC Single Girl Child Indira Gandhi Post-Graduate Scholarship (2005-2007), Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, November 2005, New Delhi, India.

CO-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE

oOrganizer, Moth Night – An outreach event for National Moth Week, Kotagiri July 2014, 2015

oAsst. Organizer, Conservation Education Programs, Z.O.O., Coimbatore, India Aug 2012 - Feb 2013

oDocent volunteer, Sunset Zoo, Manhattan, KS Dec 2008 - Jul 2011

oVolunteer, Insect Zoo, Kansas State University, Manhattan KS Sept 2008 - May 2011

SKILLS AND STRENGTHS

Insect and Invertebrate Taxonomy; Experimental Design; Field-data Collection, Scientific Writing; Macro Photography

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