Department of Cellular and Organismal Biology
2013-2017
Ensign Lab Research
Under the guidance of Dr. Bill Ensign and support from the U.S. National Park Service, I aimed to investigate a suspected population increase of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Kennesaw, Georgia that threatened a fragile ecosystem with disease and potential spillover events. By designing, developing, and applying a novel, semi-automated, photo-identification based protocol centered around the mark-recapture methodology, I was able to provide valuable insight on population distribution and dynamics to the National Park Services that led to effective systematic regulation and continuous monitoring of population control efforts.
Presentations
Mendiola, V., Ensign, B. “Assessing deer abundance in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield using motion detection cameras” [Poster]. Association of Southeaster Biologists Meeting 2017. Montgomery, AL. 2017.
Mendiola, V., Seguel, M. “Mechanisms of hookworm (Uncinaria spp.) clearance in South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis)”[Poster]. NSF REU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Athens,GA.2016.
Research Internship
Gottdenker Lab
My introduction to scientific research began when I was funded for a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research site at the University of Georgia, where I examined the cell mediated and humoral immune responses necessary for South American fur seals (Acrtocephalus australis) expel gastrointestinal hookworms (Uncinaria spp.) under the direction of Dr. Mauricio Seguel and Dr. Nicole Gottdenker. As my first research project and the main source for my interest in parasites, I quantified leukocyte differentials and later optimized an immunohistochemistry protocol that stains fur seal antibodies in the gut of the hookworms. My research contributed to further understanding the complex immune response that allows the South American fur seal to expel hookworms from their gastrointestinal system without reinfection.
a. Seguel, M., F. Montalva, D. Perez-Venegas, J. Gutierrez, H. J. Paves, A. Muller, C. Valencia, E. Howerth, V. Mendiola, N. Gottdenker. (2018). Immune mediated hookworm clearance and survival of a marine mammal decreases with warmer ocean temperatures. eLife 2018;7:e38432.
