Jill Jenkins, Ph.D.
Jill Jenkins is a Research Microbiologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Jill Jenkins’ efforts emphasize the study of potential impacts of environmental stressors at the cellular and molecular levels. Her major areas of focus include biomarker development, endocrine disruption, genetics, and comparative immunology. Key laboratory biotechnologies she uses are photomicroscopy and flow cytometry. Primary cell types studied are blood and spermatozoa, and assays are tailored to the particular species requirements and hypotheses being addressed.
Jenkins specializes in the development and application of biomarkers; these are measures of variables that respond in quantifiable ways to changes in the environment. The choice of particular biomarkers at specific biological levels of organization (such as genetic, cellular, tissue, hormonal, and organismal levels) depends on the study at hand. Because molecular and biochemical responses of cells are preceded by chemical changes in nuclei, cytoplasm, membranes, and extracellular fluids, these responses can be diagnostic and contribute to an assessment of ecosystem health.
BACKGROUND
1991-1992: Postdoctoral Res.; Reproductive Genetics Labs, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Univ. of TN, with Stephen Wachtel
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Microbiology, Memphis State University, 1991
M.S., Microbiology and Biochemistry, Idaho State University, 1985
B.S., Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology, 1981
Science and Products
Use of a Sustained-Release Chemical Delivery Device in Assessing Effects of Systemic Insecticides
An accurate method for measuring triploidy of larval fish spawns
A pilot study testing a natural and a synthetic Molluscicide for controlling invasive apple snails (Pomacea maculata)
Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope’s gray treefrog) x Hyla cinerea (green treefrog): putative natural hybrid
Novel associations between contaminant body burdens and biomarkers of reproductive condition in male Common Carp along multiple gradients of contaminant exposure in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, USA
Are endocrine and reproductive biomarkers altered in contaminant-exposed wild male Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) of Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona, USA?
Flow cytometric method for measuring chromatin fragmentation in fixed sperm from yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
Proper handling of animal tissues from the field to the laboratory supports reliable biomarker endpoints
Guidelines for use of fishes in research: Revised and expanded
Guidelines for use of fishes in research
Grass carp in the Great Lakes region: establishment potential, expert perceptions, and re-evaluation of experimental evidence of ecological impact
Assessing reproductive and endocrine parameters in male largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) along a contaminant gradient in the lower Columbia River, USA
First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Use of a Sustained-Release Chemical Delivery Device in Assessing Effects of Systemic Insecticides
An accurate method for measuring triploidy of larval fish spawns
A pilot study testing a natural and a synthetic Molluscicide for controlling invasive apple snails (Pomacea maculata)
Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope’s gray treefrog) x Hyla cinerea (green treefrog): putative natural hybrid
Novel associations between contaminant body burdens and biomarkers of reproductive condition in male Common Carp along multiple gradients of contaminant exposure in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, USA
Are endocrine and reproductive biomarkers altered in contaminant-exposed wild male Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) of Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona, USA?
Flow cytometric method for measuring chromatin fragmentation in fixed sperm from yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
Proper handling of animal tissues from the field to the laboratory supports reliable biomarker endpoints
Guidelines for use of fishes in research: Revised and expanded
Guidelines for use of fishes in research
Grass carp in the Great Lakes region: establishment potential, expert perceptions, and re-evaluation of experimental evidence of ecological impact
Assessing reproductive and endocrine parameters in male largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) along a contaminant gradient in the lower Columbia River, USA
First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.