Helen A. Violi 

 

 

2005-present        Postdoctoral Associate. University of Florida, stationed at the USDA-ARS National         Germplasm Repository, 13601 Old Cutler Rd., Miami, FL.

 

1998-2004        Teaching Assistant/Graduate Student Researcher. University of California- Riverside,     Department of Botany and Plant Sciences and the Department of Plant Pathology.

 

1996-1999               Research Assistant. Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, FL. Designed, conducted and analyzed results of a long-term research project examining restoration techniques for pine flatwoods and southern ridge sandhill.

 

1997-1998              Research Assistant and Conference Organizer. Headwaters Inc., Ashland, OR. Researched the efficacy of shaded fuelbreaks, prescribed burning and other fuel management strategies.

 

1996-1997        Lead Biological Technician. Northern California Fire Effects Team, Lava Beds National Monument, Redwood National Park, Orik, CA. Supervised field crews in the establishment of study plots, the collection and management of vegetation and fire weather and behavior data from prescribed burn units.

 

1995                                            Stewardship Ecologist Intern. The Nature Conservancy, Ashland, OR.

 

1995                                            Research Assistant. SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY.

 

1994                                            Fire Crew/Park Botanist Intern. Lava Beds Ntl. Monument, Tulelake, CA.

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

 

• Interactions between soil microbes and plants. Emphasis on competition among root colonists, plant carbon allocation and soil carbon sequestration.
• Invasive plant and plant pathogen (stramenopiles) biology.
• Restoration ecology. Emphasis on disturbance effects on soil carbon, soil-borne pathogen control, mycorrhizal fungi, the use of fire, chemical and mechanical methods to restore natural plant communities.
• Selection of disease-tolerant plants using both conventional and molecular means.

 

 

 

2002-2005   Undergraduate Mentor. Advised and supervised undergraduate students in gaining credits for     independent research projects.  Training included identification of mycorrhizal fungi in plant roots using microscopy and molecular markers, ELISA, Bradford assays and tissue nutrient analyses. Students were required to identify important research questions, complete associated laboratory work and submit a final written report.

 

2001          Biology Teaching Assistant. An intensive course covering developmental biology, physiology, and  regulation at the level of the organism. Prepared laboratory lectures, exams and assignments. Responsible for grading and weekly office hours with students.

 

1999-2003     Spring Wildflowers Teaching Assistant and Guest Lecturer (taught for three quarters). General approach to the study of vegetative and floral features of plants as a means of identification and botanical classification of major plant families in Southern California. Secondary emphasis on the field biology of flowering plants. Responsible for laboratory lectures, several course lectures, several field trips per quarter, providing grades, identifying appropriate plant species for laboratory assignments and exams.

 

1999                General Botany Teaching Assistant. An upper-level course that included comparative morphology and life cycles of plants, algae and fungi. Course focused on flowering plants structure, function, physiology, reproduction, and evolution. Prepared weekly lectures, exams, laboratory assignment and provided grades.

 

1999               General Biology Teaching Assistant. An introduction to the physiology, ecology, and evolution of living organisms. Prepared laboratory lectures, exams and assignments. Responsible for laboratory grades and weekly office hours with students.

 

 

Publications

 

Violi, H.A, A. F. Barrientos-Priego, E. Escamilla-Prado, J. A. Menge, S. F. Wright, J. Morton and C. J. Lovatt. 2008.             Disturbance-related changes to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal phenology and glomalin concentrations in montane             rainforests in Veracruz and Chiapas, Mexico. Forest Ecology and Management, 254 (2):276-290.

Borrone, J., C. T. Olano, R. J. Schnell and H. A. Violi. In press. Outcrossing in Persea americana as measured using             microsatellite markers. JASHS.

Borrone, J., R. J. Schnell, H. A. Violi and R. C. Ploetz. 2007. Seventy microsatellite markers from Persea Miller                 (avocado) expressed sequence tags. Molecular Ecology Notes, 7 (3):439-444.

Violi, H.A, K. K. Treseder, J. A. Menge, S. F. Wright and C. J. Lovatt. 2007. Density-dependence of arbuscular                 mycorrhizal fungi mediates plant growth and glomalin production. Canadian Journal of Botany, 85 (1):63-75.

Violi, H.A, J. A. Menge and R. Beaver. 2007. Chaetomium elatum (Kunze: Chaetomiaceae) as a root colonizing fungus     in avocado: is it a mutualist, cheater, commensalistic associate or pathogen?  American Journal of Botany, 94                   (4):690-700.

Allen, E. B., H. A. Violi, M. F. Allen and A. Gomez-Pompa. 2003. Restoration of tropical seasonal forest in Quintana         Roo. In: Gomez-Pompa, A., M. F. Allen, S. Fedick, and J. J. Jimenez-Osornio. Lowland Maya Area: Three millennia at     the human-wildland interface. Haworth Press, N.Y.

 

 Publications in progress

 

Violi, H. A., A. F. Barrientos-Priego, E. Escamilla-Prado, J. A. Menge, and C. J. Lovatt. In prep. Persea survival and growth in areas invaded by Phytophthora cinnamomi and P. citricola in Veracruz, Mexico.

 Violi, H. A., S. Brown, C. Olano, J. Borrone and R. J. Schnell. In review. Differential maternal and paternal effects on phytophthora root rot tolerance in Persea americana.

 

 Proceedings and Technical Reports

 

Violi, H. A. 2007. Restoration and Conservation of Wild Avocado in Mexico. Submitted to the USDA-FAS.

Violi, H. A., A. F. Barrientos-Priego and C. J Lovatt. 2006. Restoration and Conservation of Wild Avocado in Mexico. Submitted to UC MEXUS and CONACYT.

Violi, H. A. 2005. Identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for the restoration of Persea spp. Submitted to UC                 MEXUS.

Violi, H. A., J. W. Borrone, R. Ploetz, R. J. Schnell and C. T. Olano. 2006. Development of Phytophthora root                     rot-resistant avocado rootstocks for the Caribbean. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 119:41-44.

Borrone, H. W., H. A. Violi, R. Ploetz, R. J. Schnell. 2006. The development of microstatellite markers for Persea americana. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 119:41-44.

Escamilla-Prado, E., H. A. Violi, A. F. Barrientos-Priego, S. F. Wright, J. A. Menge, C. J. Lovatt, J. C. Reyes, A. Paz and J. D. Robledo Martínez. 2005. Conservación de especies lauraceas incluyendo Aguacate en áreas invadidas por Phytophthora spp.. Published in the Conference Proceedings for the Primer Congreso Internacional de Casos Exitosos de Desarrollo Sostenible del Tropico.

Violi, H.A. 1999. Summary Report: Identification and ecology of threatened tropical tree species for restoration of low             diversity secondary vegetation, submitted to UC MEXUS.

Violi, H.A. 1999. Elemental Stewardship Abstract: Paspalum notatum. Submitted to The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Heritage Program.

Violi, H.A. and E. S. Menges 1999. Evaluation of restoration techniques on semi-improved Bahiagrass pastures. Submitted to Fish and Wildlife Service.

Violi, H.A. 1997. Efficacy of shaded fuel breaks. Submitted to Headwaters Inc.

     Violi, H.A. 1994. Irrigation evaluation for the Whetstone Savannah. Submitted to The Nature Conservancy.

 

Invited presentations and Workshops

 

International Avocado Brainstorming Meeting. November 16^th-20^th, 2007. Invited to participate in discussions and poster sessions emphasizing lauraceous tree conservation, plant pathology, avocado genetics and breeding. Panquehue, Chile.

Strengthening the Basis for a Survey of the Stramenopiles: Phytophthora and Pythium in the Americas and Beyond. 2006. Participation in a week-long course and symposium emphasizing the phylogenies, the integration of morphological and molecular identification, and survey techniques for Stramenopiles, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Violi, H. A., A. Barrientos-Priego and J. A. Menge. 2004. Restoration and Conservation of Non-commercial Varieties of Avocado in Mexico. Oral presentation at the Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, Florida.

The Nature Conservancy Upland Restoration Workshop. 2000. Invited to participate in 2 days of discussions on evaluation of restoration techniques, mitigation, permitting and future directions for Upland restoration in Florida. Orlando, Florida.

Violi, H.A. and E. S. Menges. 1999. Evaluation of restoration techniques in flatwood communities on semi-improved bahiagrass pastures. Presented at the Coastal Plain Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration meeting: Upland Groundcover Restoration, Lakeland, Florida.

 

SELECTED Contributed Presentations and Posters

Violi, H. A., J. W. Borrone, R. J. Schnell and C. T. Olano, 2007. Breeding and conservation of tropical and sub-tropical Persea spp.. Poster presentations at the International Avocado Brainstorming Meeting, Panquehue, Chile.

Violi, H.A., A. F. Barrientos-Priego, E. Escamilla-Prado, R. C. Ploetz, C. J. Lovatt and John A. Menge. 2006. Persea survival and growth in areas invaded by Phytophthora cinnamomi and P. citricola in Veracruz, Mexico. Poster presented at the Botanical Society of America Conference, Chico, California.

Escamilla-Prado, E., H. A. Violi, A. Barrientos-Priego, S. F. Wright, J. A. Menge, C. J. Lovatt, J. C. Reyes, A. Paz and J. D. Robledo Martínez. 2005. Conservación de especies lauraceas incluyendo Aguacate en áreas invadidas por Phytophthora spp.. Poster presented at the Congreso Internacional de Casos Exitosos de Desarrollo Sostenible del Tropico, Boca del Río, Veracruz, México

Violi, H.A. and E. S. Menges. 1999. Restoration of flatwood communities on semi-improved pasture. Oral presentation at the Society for Ecological Restoration International Conference, San Francisco, California.

  

Grants and Awards

 

USDA-CREES: Development of avocado rootstocks via molecular and conventional means. Wrote grant proposal to fund current salary. Supervisor Dr. Ray Schnell. 2006-present. ~$140,000

USDA- Foreign Agricultural Service: Restoration and Conservation of Wild Avocado in Mexico. 2001-2007. ~$45,000

UC MEXUS-CONACYT: Restoration and Conservation of Wild Avocado in Mexico. Matching funds required for USDA grant listed above. 2003. ~$24,000

UC MEXUS Dissertation Grant: Identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for the restoration of Persea spp. Matching funds required for USDA grant listed above. 2002. ~ $12,000

Academic Senate Grant: Support to collaborate with Dr. Sara Wright in a study of the effects of disturbance on glomalin in Mexican temperature and semi-tropical forests. 2003. ~$1500

    Homer and Daisy Chapman Endowed Scholarship: Interspecific interactions among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi over narrow range of soil P. 2003-2004. Received twice ~$1500

Dissertation Research Grant. Identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant root using molecular techniques. 2003. $500

Graduate Student Association: Participation in Working Group in Chiapas, Mexico. 2002. ~$400

UC MEXUS Research Travel Grant: Collection of germplasm of wild Persea. 2001. $1500

Center for Conservation Biology, University of California, Riverside, Research Travel Grant: Restoration of Seasonal             Tropical Forest at El Eden Ecological Reserve, 2000. ~$2000

UC MEXUS Education Grant: Field course in Biodiversity and Sustainability of the Maya Region. 1999. ~$3500

Fish and Wildlife Service Grant: Restoration of native sandhill and flatwoods communities on semi-improved pasture. 1997. ~$20,000

Nature Conservancy Grant: Suppression of Paspalum notatum and other exotic grasses on semi-improved pasture through various control methods. 1997. ~$3500

 

Outreach

 

Education Director, Slow Foods Miami: Overseeing the execution of the school garden projects. The program is designed to teach middle school students about sustainable agriculture and the scientific method. Experiments are conducted using locally and culturally important crops.