Dr Alejandra Perotti - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Alejandra Perotti

Email:
m.a.perotti@reading.ac.uk
Phone:
+44 (0) 118 378 7059
Job title:
Associate Professor

Responsibilities:

Associate Professor in Invertebrate Biology
Chair of the Ethics Research Committee
Supervisor of PhD students, UK and abroad
Doctoral and Researcher College: 菜肱郭創利 Researcher Development Programme – RRDP for Doctoral Skills Training and Development, delivering the workshop “Decolonising Research”

Teaching

BI2BDFC & BI3BDFC - Biodiversity Field Course. CONVENOR and Instructor (2019)
BI2EI4 - Invertebrate Zoology. CONVENOR (2008-2017 / 2022-…); Instructor (2018-2019)
BI3EB7 - Forensic Zoology. CONVENOR and Instructor (2009-2019)
BI1BEA2 - Current Topics in Ecology and Zoology. Instructor
BI2PLA - Summer Placement. Teaching Assistant
BI1EZ12 - Key Skills in Ecology and Zoology. Teaching Assistant
BI2EWEV - Biodiversity field course. CONVENOR and Instructor (2010-2018)
BI3EI8 - Research Topics in Ecology. Instructor
BI1 - Genes and Chromosomes. Instructor (2007-2010)
BI2M34 - Professional Career Development. Teaching Assistant

Research centres and groups

Impact, Enterprise and Outreach

Expert witness: application or use of the biology of mites and lice as evidence, in the analysis/interpretation of crime scenes including neglect.
Development of working protocols for forensic labs to analyse micro-arthropods, particularly human lice and acarological evidence from crime scenes
Research and Development Responsible of APST-ENFSI (Animal Plant and Soil Traces Advisor Group of European Network of Forensic Science Institutes)
Consultant and reviewer for bio-control mite patents and patent disputes
Consultant on private cases, arthropods and human-skin related cases; consultant for pest-control: mite infestations in general, biting and sucking lice as well as allergy or house dust mites
Interviews, reports, letters, on forensic research, human lice, and human follicular mites through BBC NEWS, Times Education, The New York Times, The Spiegel, The Independent, BBC Radio Berkshire, Daily Mail, Metro, etc...
Ten consecutive years, Project provider for the Nuffield Foundation (research student bursaries, placements)
Member of 菜肱郭創利 Working Group: Decolonising the Curriculum

Research projects

Funding from BBSRC; NERC; The Royal Society; The Leverhulme Trust; The Nuffield Foundation; British Council; EC/EU; MINCyT (Argentina) and Industry
Main research topics
- Ectoparasitic lice and mites of primates: using Pediculus lice as proxies of hosts' evolution.
- Ancient DNA: ectoparasites (lice and mites), and their extinct hosts.
- Mites of medical and veterinary importance, whole organism biology and evolution.
- Human follicular mites.
- Forensic acarology: the utility of mites (Acari) in forensic investigations, crime case reports and research.
- Mites of economic importance: pests and biocontrol agents. Genetics, whole organism biology; biology of interactions (e.g. predation, phoresy) between mites with other arthropods (e.g. Bumblebees) and with bacteria (e.g. symbiosis, Wolbachia).
- Sex ratio distorters (e.g. Rickettsia, Wolbachia) and their asexual arthropod hosts.
- Forensic acarology: the utility of mites (Acari) in forensic investigations, crime case reports and research.
- Human lice and neglect.

Awards and honours

Esteem Factors

Co-opted Board member of the EURAAC (European Association of Acarologists)
Associate Member of APST-ENFSI (Animal Plant and Soil Traces Group-European Network of Forensic Science Institutes)
Former EAFE Board member (European Association of Forensic Entomologists)
Member of the Latin American Association of Acarologists
Member of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
Awards and Distinctions received:
- Friends of the 菜肱郭創利 Award' (2014)
- 'Cesar Milstein Grant' by MINCyT, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Tecnología de Argentina (2010 and 2021)
- 'National Prize in Applied Entomology', Entomological Society of Argentina (2002)
Overseas External Examiner for PhDs thesis/Vivas.
Evaluator and referee of research projects for national and external/overseas research councils/organizations, e.g. MRC, BBSRC, NERC, NC3Rs; NSF (USA), ASF (AT), GARC (CZ), FONCYT (AR), etc..
Organiser of VI EAFE Congress (European Association for Forensic Entomology), Crete 2008
Adjunct Professor, Master in Forensic Applications, University of the Basque Country
Invited Keynote speaker, Plenary speaker, Session Chair organizer, and Workshop Chair and organizer in over 50 International scientific events
Member of the Scientific Committee of international congresses (in acarology or forensic sciences)
Curator of the 'Acari collection of Forensic Importance, a reference collection for case work (AFI) (菜肱郭創利 University)

Professional bodies/affiliations

International Collaborators: Research

Dr Mikkel Pedersen, The Globe Institute University of Copenhagen
Prof. Martin Sikora, The Globe Institute University of Copenhagen
Prof. Daniel Young, University of Wisconsin
Dr Marta Saloña Bordas, Universidad del País Vasco
Prof. C. Teresa Michieli, Director Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Museo "Prof. Mariano Gambier" FFHA - Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina
Drs. Leonardo Diaz-Nieto and Fernando Aballay, Instituto y Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina
Prof. Edward Mitchell, Université de Neuchâtel
Dr Jens Amendt, Institute of Legal Medicine, Goethe University, Frankfurt
Dr Corina Beron, INBIOTEC - CONICET, Argentina
Prof. Simonetta Lambiasse, Università di Pavia
Dr Ibrahim Cakmak, Department of Plant Protection, University of Adnan Menderes, Aydin, Turkey
Dr Jürgen Deckert, Curator, Head of Insect Collection, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Dr Didier Van den Spiegel, Head of "Biological collection and data management" unit Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale, BE
Dr Sergio Bermúdez, Departamento de Investigación en Entomología Médica, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panamá.
Prof. Valerio Scali and Dr Ombretta Mareschaldi, Università di Bologna
Prof. Amparo Latorre, Universitat de Valencia
Prof. Andres Moya, Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Genómica y Salud del Centro Superior de Investigación en Salud Pública (CSISP)-Universitat de Valencia
Laboratorio de Trazos Biológicos, Policía Judicial, Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina
Dr Yelitza Velazques, Universidad de Alicante
Dr Peter Mašán, Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences
J. Alexander Rodríguez-Arrieta, MSc., Researcher, Microscopic Structures Research Centre, Universidad de Costa Rica
Lic. Varinia Varela Guarda, Arqueóloga Investigadora, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
Dr Guillermo Bustelo González, Sanctuary Fundacion RAINFER, Madrid
Dr Rebeca Atencia, Director of the Jane Goodall Institute, Tchimpounga Sanctuary, Congo
Dr Sawsan al Jubori, Al- Mustansiriyia University, Baghdad, Iraq
Dr Martín Fugassa, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Dr David Reed, Florida Museum of natural History
Prof. Stefano Vanin, DISSAL, UNIGE, Italy
Dr Luca Mazon, Dr Isabel Martiñez-Sañudo, University of Padova, Agricenter
Prof. Antonella di Palma, Dipartimento delle Scienze Agrarie degli Alimenti e dell'Ambiente, University of Foggia, Italy
National Natural History Museum, Santiago de Chile
Hamburg Natural History Museum, Hamburg, Germany

National Collaborators: Research

Darren Mann, Oxford University
Dr Vince Smith, Natural History Museum
Dr Henk Braig, Bangor University
Prof. Dave Goulson, University of Sussex
Dr Jane Hopper, The Howletts Wild Animal Trust, Port Lympne, Kent
Prof. Peter Shaw, Rothamsted University, England
Prof. Eske Willerslev, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Natural History Museum, London

International and National Collaborations: Forensic case-work

Collaboration with Forensic Institutes and Scientific Police of Latin American, European (ENFSI) and South East countries.
Thames Valley Police, Principal SOCOs (CSIs), England
James Hutton Institute Scotland
Police Scotland

Websites/blogs

PhD Opportunities

Selected publications

Pre 2007

Perotti, M.A., H.K. Clarke, B.D. Turner and H.R Braig. 2006. Rickettsia as obligate and mycetomic bacteria. FASEB Journal, 20:2372-2374.

Perotti, M.A. and H.R. Braig. 2005. Endosymbionts of Acari. Phytophaga, 14: 457-476.

Perotti, M.A., S.S. Catalá, A. Ormeño, M. Zelazowska, S.M. Bilinski, and H.R. Braig. 2004. The sex ratio distortion in the human head louse is conserved over time. BMC Genetics, 5:10.

Perotti, M.A. and T.L. Lysyk. 2003. A novel growth media for rearing larval horn flies, Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 40: 22-29.

Perotti, M.A. 2001. Prey location and predation rates of predatory mites (Acari: Macrochelidae) on immature stages of pest flies (Diptera: Muscidae). Systematics & Applied Acarology, 6: 27-33.

Perotti, M.A., T. J. Lysyk., L. Kalischuk-Tymensen, L.J. Yanke, and L.B.Selinger. 2001. Growth and Survival of immature Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) is influenced by bacteria isolated from cattle manure and conspecific larvae. Journal of Medical Entomology, 38: 180-187.

Perotti, M.A. 2000. Control biológico de la mosca de los cuernos, Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) [Biological control of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae)] Boletin Sociedad Entomológica de Argentina. 16: 6-10.

Perotti, M.A. 2000. Acaros foréticos (Acari: Pygmephoridae) de la mosca de los cuernos Haematobia irritans (L.). Aspectos ecológicos de la interacción. [Phoretic mites (Acari: Pygmephoridae) of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.). Ecology of the interaction] Revista de Medicina Veterinaria (Arg), 80: 449-452.

Perotti, M.A. P.Mariategui and C. Speicys. 2000. Predator mites of dung-breeding flies (Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae, Parasitidae) on Ontherus sulcator (F.) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Revista Sociedad Entomológica de Argentina, 59: 200-204.

Perotti, M.A. 1999. Localization of distant preys by Glyptholaspis confusa Foa (Acari: Macrochelidae). Revista Sociedad Entomológica de Argentina, 58:106-108.

Perotti, M.A. 1999. Control biologico de moscas sinantrópicas [Biological control of synanthropic flies]. Technical Bulletin. ISBN 987-9136-75-6, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Special Editions.

Perotti, M.A. and J. A. Bachmann. 1999. First record and population ecology of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans L (Diptera: Muscidae) on cattle from Southeast of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). Research and Reviews in Parasitology,59: 47-51.

Perotti, M.A. 1998. Moscas sinantrópicas (Diptera: Muscidae y Fanniidae) en producciones avícolas del sud este bonaerense [Synantropic flies (Diptera: Muscidae y Fanniidae) associated with poultry farms in South-eastern Buenos Aires province]. Natura Neotropicalis, 29: 145-154.

Perotti, M.A. and M.A. Brasesco. 1998. First record of Pediculaster (Acari: Pygmophoridae), for Argentina, collected on the horn fly Haematobia irritans L (Diptera, Muscidae). Revista Sociedad Entomológica de Argentina, 57: 136-137.

Perotti, M.A. and N. Sardella. 1998. Sobre la presencia de la mosca hematófaga Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae) en Mar del Plata: Una advertencia sanitaria. [About the occurrence of the stable fly Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae) in Mar del Plata: a health hazard warning]. Revista Sociedad Entomológica de Argentina, 57: 71-72.

Perotti, M.A. and M.J.A. Brasesco. 1997. Orientación química de Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae): detección de presas a distancia, huevos de Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) y Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) [Chemo-orientation of Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae) and detection of distant eggs of Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) and Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae)]. Revista Sociedad Entomológica de Argentina, 56: 67-70.

Perotti, M.A. 1996. Something else about the horn fly, Haematobia irritans. Annales Sociedad Rural Argentina. 129:24

Perotti, M.A. 1996. Poultry manure and associated fauna (beneficial associated organisms). Technical Monograph: Revista CAPIA Informa. 159: 15-25

Perotti, M.A. and M.J.A. Brasesco. 1996. Especificidad forética de Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae) [Phoretic specificity of Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae)]. Ecologia Austral, 6:3-8.

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