Ash Mary Varghese, Ph.D. Email and Phone Number

• Secured a scientific research grant of $31,000 from the Government of Northwest Territories to do the baseline water quality assessment of two fishing lakes near Fort Good Hope.• Prepared a scientific research proposal to generate baseline data/ reference for Environmental Assessment for future development projects in the Fort Good Hope area (NWT). • Trained four casual employees for the project.

• Prepared regulatory staff reports to help the Board to make decisions on land/water use and deposit of waste under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (Canada).• Provided scientific insights and solutions for environmental health issues in plain-language through public presentations, staff reports and technical communications.• Reviewed technical documents as the lead regulatory specialist for regulatory decision-making for different reclamation/remediation projects… Show more • Prepared regulatory staff reports to help the Board to make decisions on land/water use and deposit of waste under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (Canada).• Provided scientific insights and solutions for environmental health issues in plain-language through public presentations, staff reports and technical communications.• Reviewed technical documents as the lead regulatory specialist for regulatory decision-making for different reclamation/remediation projects, including a hydrocarbon-contaminated soil treatment project and a consolidated closure and reclamation project. • Coordinated submissions made to the Board, managing public reviews, conducting preliminary screenings, liaising with all stakeholders, and reviewed technical reports spanning various disciplines, including ecology, hydrology, geology, soil science, engineering, and economics.• Applied preliminary quantitative risk assessment principles for decisions about wastewater disposal on land. • Managed regulatory processes for all the municipal water licences, and leading the technical review of a major Aquatic Effects Monitoring Program in Sahtu Region, NWT.• Actively engaged and consulted with First Nations and Sahtu communities by presenting scientific information in plain language, encouraging the public to voice critical issues and concerns as evidence for regulatory decision-making.• Excellent track record in Public and Aboriginal Consultation. • Integrated scientific and traditional knowledge as evidence for regulatory decision-making. Show less

Project Title: Relating Microbial Community and Function to Metal Cycling in Uranium Tailings Pond Sediment (funded by OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs). • Successfully collaborated with a team consisting of geologists, chemists and graduate students to find solutions for monitoring of bio-remediation at a legacy uranium mining site.• Generated reliable results for experiments in diversity analysis of microorganisms involved in the natural… Show more Project Title: Relating Microbial Community and Function to Metal Cycling in Uranium Tailings Pond Sediment (funded by OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs). • Successfully collaborated with a team consisting of geologists, chemists and graduate students to find solutions for monitoring of bio-remediation at a legacy uranium mining site.• Generated reliable results for experiments in diversity analysis of microorganisms involved in the natural attenuation of uranium mining waste, and documented them for publishing in peer-reviewed journals. Show less

I pursued my doctoral study at Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Cochin, India; as an off-shoot work based on the results of a core World Bank funded project. I was a registered PhD student of Cochin University of Science and Technology(CUSAT), Cochin, India; and I cleared the PhD coursework examinations to secure PhD candidature with a GPA score of 8.25 on a 10 point scale. My Thesis work titled "Transcriptome dynamics of Mangrovibacter sp. during aerobic to anoxic… Show more I pursued my doctoral study at Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Cochin, India; as an off-shoot work based on the results of a core World Bank funded project. I was a registered PhD student of Cochin University of Science and Technology(CUSAT), Cochin, India; and I cleared the PhD coursework examinations to secure PhD candidature with a GPA score of 8.25 on a 10 point scale. My Thesis work titled "Transcriptome dynamics of Mangrovibacter sp. during aerobic to anoxic transition" was an ultimate test of my critical thinking, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, will power and perseverance. I leveraged minimum resources and supervision to establish a well-defined pipeline for next-generation sequencing (NGS) based transcriptomic studies in bacteria. The thesis was the first of its kind submitted to CUSAT, Cochin. Work Experience•Mangrovibacter sp. MFB070, a facultative anaerobic nitrogen-fixing bacterium isolated from sediment soil of an aquaculture pond; was used for DNA isolation and sequencing experiments; to generate the first draft genome sequence of a member of the genus Mangrovibacter. •Performed literature searches; design of experiments; wet and dry lab experiments in Molecular Microbiology utilizing Microbiology, Fermentation and Molecular Biology labs; to generate RNA sequencing data and other qualitative/quantitative data from gene expression experiments on Mangrovibacter sp. MFB070.•Gene expression studies and data analysis of Mangrovibacter sp. MFB070 in various levels of anoxia stress led to the identification of genes that code for 70 unknown proteins, other important genes and molecular pathways conferring anoxia tolerance to the organism. Show less

Underwent Training in Bioinformatics for Analysis of micro-array and RNA-Seq data.

Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Cochin, India; is the only national institute in India where research in all disciplines relating to fishing and fish processing is undertaken. It serves as a national-level food referral laboratory under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India. At CIFT,Cochin; I worked for a World Bank Funded Consortium Project titled "Bioprospecting of genes and allele mining for abiotic stress tolerance". In addition to the core… Show more Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Cochin, India; is the only national institute in India where research in all disciplines relating to fishing and fish processing is undertaken. It serves as a national-level food referral laboratory under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India. At CIFT,Cochin; I worked for a World Bank Funded Consortium Project titled "Bioprospecting of genes and allele mining for abiotic stress tolerance". In addition to the core project, I have played multiple roles including positions of Lab Manager and Quality Control Technologist. Work Experience•Analyzed bacterial diversity of various water and soil samples from brackish water and marine ecosystems. Isolated and identified 450 different strains of facultative anaerobes and halophilic bacteria. •Identified candidate genes from important facultative anaerobes and halophilic bacteria and characterized them. •Performed experiments to detect White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Yellow Head Virus (YHV) infection in shrimp. •Performed microbiological testing of seafood samples for securing import customs clearing, export documents or other commercial documents for food industry; on a daily basis.•Demonstrated accountability for performing multiple tasks that included performance of core experiments in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics; preparation of letters of intent; purchase of equipment; facilitated establishment of a new Molecular Biology Laboratory; management of molecular biology and fermentation laboratories; preparation of technical and financial reports; assistance for audit section in bookkeeping; providing assistance in coordinating “Current trends in Microbial Technology”, a winter school for scientists, lecturers and young researchers; editing and proofreading of papers in Microbiology and publication of core results. Show less

Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), Kottayam, India; is a national institute constituted by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Commerce for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.My Project title: Isolation and characterization of rubber biosynthesis related genes and… Show more Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), Kottayam, India; is a national institute constituted by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Commerce for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.My Project title: Isolation and characterization of rubber biosynthesis related genes and their promoters.Work Experience•Isolated tissue specific promoters of the latex biosynthetic genes like Farnesyl di-phosphate and Cis- prenyl transferase, using RAGE and Inverse PCR. •Gained experience in confirmation of genomic stability of somatic embryogenesis derived Hevea braseliensis varieties through RAPD analysis. •Performed lab demonstrations (Molecular Biology) for Masters students and trainees. Show less