Vice President of Research and Veterinary Services
Mystic Aquarium & Institute For Exploration
Ph.D., University of
Rochester
tromano@MysticAquarium.org
Neuroimmunology in marine mammals. More specifically, we are studying how environmental challenges (noise, changes in water temperature, introduction to novel environments, transport, exposure to other marine mammal populations, and pollutants) affect the immune system and health of dolphins kept under human care as well as dolphins in the wild. In addition, we are studying the evolution of the immune system through cloning and sequencing of important cetacean immunological molecules, and the development of cetacean-specific immunological reagents and assays for assessment of immune function.
Publications:
Romano, T.A., J.A. Olschowka, S.Y. Felten,
V. Quaranta, S.H. Ridgway,and D.L. Felten. 2002. Immune response,
stress, and evironment: Implications for cetaceans. In: Cell and
Molecular Biology of Marine Mammals. C.J. Pfeiffer (ed). Krieger
Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 253-279.
Romano, T., M. Keogh and Kerri Danil. 2002. Investigation of the Effects
of Repeated Chase and Encirclement on the Immune System of Spotted
Dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, NOAA
Technical Report.
Romano, T.A., S.H. Ridgway, D.L Felten, and V. Quaranta. 1999. Molecular
cloning and characterization of CD4 in an aquatic mammal, the white
whale, Delphinapterus leucas. Immunogenetics 49:376-383.
Romano, T.A., S.Y. Felten, J.A. Olschowka, and D.L. Felten. 1994.
Noradrenergic and peptidergic innervation of lymphoid organs in the
beluga, Delphinapterus leucas: An anatomical link between the nervous
and immune systems. J. Morphol. 221:243-259.