People

Ellen Trimarco

Conservation Genetics Program Manager
M.A. in Conservation Biology, Columbia University, 2007


Ellen Trimarco in a forest

Ellen Trimarco is the Program Manager for the Center for Conservation Genetics. Ms. Trimarco enjoyed her first research experience at Florida State University as an undergraduate in Biology working with Dr. David Balkwill. As a researcher of the Deep Subsurface Microbiology Project organized by principal investigator, Dr. Tullis Onstott, at Princeton University, Ms. Trimarco explored the deep subsurface microbiology that thrives kilometers below South Africa’s exterior. Following phylogenetic characterization of these novel bacterium, Ms. Trimarco published, “In situ enrichment of a diverse community of bacteria from a 4-5 km deep fault zone in South Africa.” Post graduation from Florida State University in Biology (2004), Ms. Trimarco received an Emerging Infectious Disease Fellowship from the Center for Disease Control (2004-2005) and completed a real-time PCR assay for the detection of the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever pathogen, Rickettsia rickettsii. Ms. Trimarco continued her academic career at Columbia University’s Master of Arts program in Conservation Biology (2005-2007) under the direction of Dr. Shahid Naeem (Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology). Ms. Trimarco is responsible for maintenance and daily operation of the state-of-the-art laboratory of the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics. She is keenly interested in the ecology of marine systems, specifically Gulf of Mexico mangrove environments and botany. In addition, Ms. Trimarco is working on a publication stemming from her Masters thesis titled, “Soil Macrofaunal Community Structure and Decomposition Processes Are Closely Linked in a Northeastern Deciduous Forest,” in collaboration with her adviser, Dr. Shahid Naeem (Columbia University).

Selected publications