Give Today
Now more than ever, we need your support. Make a donation to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute today!
E. Emperatriz Gamero, M.S.
Smithsonian Fellow and Graduate Student researcher
B.S. Central University of Venezuela (UCV); M.S. Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC), expected 2020
Biography
E. Emperatriz Gamero is currently a fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Center for Conservation Genomics, where she conducts lab work for her master's degree. Her research aims to propose a phylogenetic hypothesis about the origins of the endemic and critically endangered Margarita capuchin, and its divergence from mainland capuchins. She hopes to examine longstanding questions about specific versus subspecific status of the species based on their colonization of Margarita Island.
Gamero's projects include:
- Genetic bases for the conservation of the Critically-Endangered Margarita Capuchin (Sapajus apella margaritae) endemic to Margarita Island, Venezuela.
She trained originally in cell biology and education and conducted her undergraduate thesis work in microbiology using molecular genetic tools. Following graduation, she joined IVIC as a staff research professional, working on genes involved in the cell cycle of the human pathogen mycobacterium tuberculosis. In 2008, she shifted to research focused on building the genetic bases for the conservation of threatened Venezuelan taxa and has collaborated in projects focused on red siskins, Orinoco crocodiles and green sea turtles.
Recent Publications
Gamero, E., K. M. Rodríguez-Clark, N. Ceballos-Mago, R. Martínez, M. Pernía. Protocolo de descontaminación en estudios genéticos de muestras no invasivas de Sapajus apella margaritae (Decontamination protocol for genetic studies of non-invasive samples from Sapajus apella margaritae). : B. Urbani, N. Ceballos-Mago (Eds.). La Primatología en Venezuela. Caracas: ACFIMAN (Academia de Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales) / Editorial Equinoccio (Universidad Simón Bolívar). In Press.
Ceballos-Mago, N., E. Gamero, K. M. Rodríguez-Clark, R. Martínez, M. Pernía, M. Métodos de campo para la recolección de muestras genéticas no-invasivas de mono de Margarita, Sapajus apella margaritae (Field methods for collecting non-invasive genetic samples from the Margarita capuchin monkey, Sapajus apella margaritae). In: B. Urbani, N. Ceballos-Mago (Eds.). La Primatología en Venezuela. Caracas: ACFIMAN (Academia de Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales) / Editorial Equinoccio (Universidad Simón Bolívar). In Press.