Curriculum Vita
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Scientist, WET Labs East
70 Dean Knauss Rd • Narragansett, RI 02882
Phone: (401) 783-1787
email: bruno@wetlabs.com

Recent Employment History
Sept 2009–present: Research Scientist, WET Labs East.

Sept 2007–Sept 2009: Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology, Siena College, Loudonville, NY.

Aug 2003–Aug 2007: Postdoctoral researcher, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island.

Current Research
I am working on adapting WETLabs CYCLE instrument to measure harmful microbial agents and organisms, such as HAB and their toxins. For these applications I am considering both immunological (antibody)- and nucleic acid (gene)-based assays.

Education
2003–2007: Postdoctoral training with Drs. David Smith, Stephen D'Hondt, and Art Spivack, Graduate School of Oceanography, URI. Area: Microbial activity in deeply buried oceanic sediments.

2003: Ph.D. Biological Oceanography, Graduate School of Oceanography, URI. Thesis Title: Effects of thyroid hormones on stomach development, and toxicity of PCB 126 in metamorphosing summer flounder. Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Specker.

1996: B.S. Zoology, University of Rhode Island, Highest Distinction.

Professional Experience
Technical expertise: Immunoassays applied to animal physiology and development; bioassays, developmental toxicology; radiotracer-based enzyme activity assays; 16S rRNA gene amplification applied to microbial community analysis.

Past Research: Fish gastrointestinal development and toxicology of dioxin-like PCBs; relationship between host and microbial community in the intestine of vertebrates; microbial activity in deep marine sediments and continental aquifers. History of oceanography.

Teaching: College freshman level Biology, sophomore level Microbiology.

Research Interests
My general scientific interests are in environmental microbiology and chemistry, in particular understanding how environmental factors (temperature, nutrients concentration, pollutants) influence the abundance, persistence, blooming frequency, and toxicity of harmful algal blooms (HAB). One of the obvious approaches to this problem is to characterize the distribution, abundance, and physiology of these organisms in relation to the various environmental factors. To achieve this, there is urgent need in the marine scientific community for instruments that can measure organisms' abundance and toxin concentration in situ , on short time scales (several times a day).

Publications
Marine Microbiology

Soffientino B , Spivack AJ, D'Hondt S, and Smith DC. Hydrogenase activity in deeply buried sediments of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans (2009). Geomicrobiology Journal 26: 537–545.

Nunoura T, Soffientino B , Blazejak A, Kakuta J, Oida H, Shippers A, Takai K (2009). Subseafloor microbial communities associated with rapid turbidite deposition in the Gulf of Mexico continental slope (IODP Expedition 308). FEMS Microbiology Ecology , 69: 410–424.

Onstott TC, McGown DJ, Bakermans C, Ruskeeniemi T, Ahonen L, Telling J, Soffientino B , Pfiffner SM, Sherwood-Lollar B, Frape S, Stotler R, Johnson EJ, Vishnivetskaya TA, Rothmel T, and Pratt LM (2009). Microbial communities in subpermafrost saline fracture water at the Lupin Au Mine, Nunavut, Canada. Microbial Ecology , 58: 786­–807.

Soffientino B , Spivack AJ, Smith DC, Roggenstein EB, and D'Hondt SL (2006). A versatile and sensitive tritium-based radioassay for measuring hydrogenase activity in aquatic sediments. Journal of Microbiological Methods , 66 (1): 136-146.

Soffientino B , Gwaltney T, Nelson DR, Specker JL, Mauel M, and Gomez-Chiarri M (1999). Infectious necrotizing enteritis and mortality caused by Vibrio carchariae in summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus during intensive culture. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 38: 201-210.

Animal Development, Physiology, and Toxicology

Soffientino B , Nacci D, and Specker JL (2010). Effects of the dioxin-like PCB 126 on larval and metamorphosing summer flounder. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C , 152:9-17.

Soffientino B , Gomez-Chiarri M, and Specker JL (2006). Developmental changes in stomach, intestine, and skin glycoconjugates in summer flounder ( Paralichthys dentatus ): a lectin histochemical study. Aquaculture , 253 (1-4): 680-687.

Soffientino B and Specker JL. (2003). Age-dependent changes in the response of the stomach to T4 in developmentally arrested larval summer flounder. General and Comparative Endocrinology , 134 (3): 237-43.

Soffientino B and Specker JL (2001). Metamorphosis of summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus : Cell proliferation and differentiation of the gastric mucosa and developmental effects of altered thyroidal status. Journal of Experimental Zoology , 290: 31-40.

Soffientino, B (1999). Biotechnology provides tools for the study of flounder metamorphosis. Maritimes (URI-GSO publication), Summer '99 issue.

Specker JL, Sundell K, Chandlee M, and Soffientino B (2000). Flounder with partial intestine osmoregulate in seawater. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry , 23: 159-164.

Merson R, Casey C, Martinez C, Soffientino B , Chandlee M, and Specker JL (2000). Oocyte development in summer flounder ( Paralichthys dentatus ): Seasonal changes and steroid correlates. Journal of Fish Biology , 57, 182-196.

Huang L, Schreiber AM, Soffientino B , Bengtson DA, and Specker JL (1998). Metamorphosis of summer flounder ( Paralichthys dentatus ): Thyroid status and the timing of gastric gland formation. Journal of Experimental Zoology , 280: 413-420.

History of Oceanography

Soffientino B and Pilson MEQ (2009). English translation with historical notes of “ Osservazioni intorno al Bosforo Tracio…” by LF Marsigli (1681). Earth Sciences History , 28(1): 57–83.

Soffientino B and Pilson MEQ (2006). The Bosporus Strait: a special place in the history of Oceanography. Oceanography , 18 (2): 16-23.

Fellowships and Awards
1999–2003 EPA Science To Achieve Results Graduate Fellowship. Project title: Assessing the toxicity of dioxin-like PCBs to metamorphosing summer flounder.

2001 Ann Durbin Award in Biological Oceanography.

1999 Graduate School of Oceanography Alumni Fellowship.

1998 EPA-University of Rhode Island Pre-doctoral Fellowship. Project title: The formation of a functional stomach in summer flounder: morphogenesis and hormonal regulation.

1996 University of Rhode Island President's Award of Excellence in Zoology.