Bio:

Dr. Godard-Codding’s research interests focus on mechanistic toxicology, endangered wildlife ecotoxicology and conservation, endocrinology and biomarkers and can be grouped in two main programmatic areas.

Programmatic Area 1: Investigating and modeling the Cellular and Biochemical Toxicity of Organic Contaminants. My laboratory is interested in furthering our understanding of the toxicity of organic contaminants at the cellular and biochemical levels in cetaceans, sea turtles, and sharks and its relation to stress at the cellular and organismal levels. We focus on (1) establishing primary and immortalized cell lines as well as organotypic cultures in selected species, (2) conducting in vitro testing on the toxicity of oil and other organic contaminants, (3) investigating biomarkers of exposure, sensitivity, and effect, (4) modeling in vitro data on contaminant uptake and toxicity for organismal health assessment in marine protected species.

Programmatic Area 2: Advancing Hormone Analyses to Further our Understanding of Stress, Reproductive Fitness and Overall Health. My laboratory is interested in advancing hormone analyses in cetaceans, sea turtles, and sharks by (1) developing methodologies allowing for the simultaneous analysis of multiple reproductive and stress steroid hormones in live animals using skin biopsy and other matrices, (2) validating analyses performed on samples collected from live animals with analyses performed on tissues, from animals of known reproductive and health status, obtained from subsistence hunts or during necropsies, and (3) investigating correlations between body condition determined by photogrammetry data obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and hormone analyses obtained from blubber and blow samples in cetaceans.

Dr. Godard-Codding received her Master’s in Microbiology from Clemson University, South Carolina in 1994 and her Diplome D’Ingénieurs from ENITA-Dijon in France also in 1994. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology in 2000 from Texas Tech University. Her Ph.D. research focused on the identification and characterization of novel cytochrome P450 1 genes in marine vertebrates (fish and cetaceans) and was conducted at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) from 1995 until 2000. Dr. Godard-Codding pursued her research in biomarkers of exposure and effects in marine mammals at WHOI as a post-doctoral investigator from 2001 until 2004. She then moved to the University of Southern Maine for a senior post-doctoral fellowship position where she studied the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the endangered North Atlantic Right whale and participated in the creation of marine mammal cell lines. During her post-doctoral appointments and from 2000 to 2005, Dr. Godard-Codding served as Chief Scientist for the toxicology program of a worldwide sperm whale research cruise sponsored by Ocean Alliance. Her involvement in this program was featured in the news section of Science (2004, 2005) and on the Discovery Channel (2004). Dr. Godard-Codding has established collaborations with a number of agencies and universities, including the NOAA Fisheries center in Galveston, Texas and Seattle, Washington; Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS), Mexico; Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Science; Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, Maurice Lamontagne Institute, Canada, University of Alaska Fairbanks; and University of Siena, Italy.  These collaborations provide opportunities for interesting research projects and multi-disciplinary student training.

Awards:

2022    Texas Tech University OR&I Open Access Publication Initiative award

2021    Texas Tech University Integrated Scholar Award

2020    Outstanding Woman Leader Award, West Texas-Association for Women in STEAM (WT-AWIS)

2018    Texas Tech University President’s Excellence in Teaching Award

2017    Texas Tech University OR&I Open Access Publication Initiative award

2016    Texas Tech University Presidential Leadership Institute induction

2012    Texas Tech University Research Enhancement Award

2010    Texas Tech University Institute for Inclusive Excellence induction

2010    Texas Tech University Research Enhancement Award

2009    UK-US Research Collaboration Award

2008    Texas Tech University Research Enhancement Award

Selected Publications: Published with different last names, use ORCID 0000-0001-9386-6767 identifier

Cruz-Vallejo Romyna A., Amador-Capitanachi María José, Norris Tenaya, Hernández-Camacho Claudia J., Tripp-Valdez Arturo, Moncayo-Estrada Rodrigo, Herguera-García Juan Carlos, Godard-Codding Céline AJ, Elorriaga-Verplancken Fernando R. 2023 Foraging segregation by sex and age in the Guadalupe fur seal from Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Mar Mam Sci. 2023;1–12. http://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13076.

Hayes Kia RR, Ylitalo Gina M, Anderson Todd A, Urbán R Jorge, Jacobsen Jeff K, Scordino Jonathan J, Lang Aimee R, Baugh Keri A, Bolton Jennie L, Brüniche-Olsen Anna, Calambokidis John C, Martínez-Aguilar Sergio, Subbiah Seenivasan, Gribble Matthew O, Godard-Codding Céline AJ. 2022. Influence of life history parameters on persistent organic pollutant concentrations in blubber of eastern North Pacific gray whales (s). Environmental Science & Technology, 56, 17119-17130. https://doi-org.lib-e2.lib.ttu.edu/10.1021/acs.est.2c05998

Becerril-García EE, Arauz R, Arellano-Martínez M, Ayala-Bocos A, Bonfil R, Castillo-Géniz JL, Carrera-Fernández M, Chiaramonte G, Cisneros-Montemayor AM, Concha F, Ehemann NR, Espinoza M, Estupiñán-Montaño C, Fuentes K, Galván-Magaña F, Guzmán-Castellanos AB, Hacohen-Domené A, Hazin F, Hernández S, Hoyos-Padilla EM, Ketchum JT, Kingma I, Méndez O, Oddone MC, Pérez-Jiménez JC, Petatán-Ramírez D, Polo-Silva C, Salinas-De León P, Santana-Morales O, Vélez-Zuazo X, C.A.G. Godard-Codding. Key research questions for the conservation of chondrichthyans in Latin America. Biological Conservation, vol 269, 109535, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109535

Wittmaack Christiana, Urbán R Jorge, Bernot Simon Daniela, Martínez-Aguilar Sergio, Subbiah Seenivasan, Surles James G., Looney Mary, Kumar Naveen, Halaska Barbie, Duignan Pádraig J., Knauss Madelyn, Burns Kristen, Godard-Codding Céline AJ. 2022. Small Blubber Samples (50 mg) Sufficient for Analyses of Ten Stress and Reproductive Steroid Hormones in Gray and Fin Whales via Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Frontiers in Marine Science, vol 8, 808764. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.808764. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.808764.

Brüniche-Olsen Anna, Bickham John W, Godard-Codding A Céline, Brykov Vladimir, Kellner Kenneth, Urban Jorge, DeWoody J. Andrew. 2021. Influence of Holocene habitat availability on Pacific gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) population dynamics as inferred from whole mitochondrial genome sequences and environmental niche modelling. Journal of Mammalogy, 102(4):986–999. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab032.

Shaver DJ, Gredzens C, Godard-Codding CAJ, Walker JS, Yacabucci J, Schmitt CJ. 2021. Embryo deformities and nesting trends in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles Lepidochelys kempii before and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Endangered Species Research 44:277-289 https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01107

Poirier MC, Marsili L, Fossi MC, Godard-Codding CAJ, Hernandez-Ramon EE, Si N, Divi KV, Divi RL, Kerr I, Wise JP Jr., Wise CF, Wise SS, Wise JP Sr. 2021. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-DNA Adducts in Gulf of Mexico Sperm Whale Skin Biopsies Collected in 2012. Toxicological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfab016

Becerril-García E, Arellano-Martínez M, Bernot-Simon D, Hoyos-Padilla M, Galván-Magaña F, Godard-Codding C. 2020. Steroid hormones and chondrichthyan reproduction: physiological functions, scientific effort, and implications for conservation.  PeerJ 8:e9686 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9686

Lian M, Castellini JM, Miller D, Griff B, Vertyankin VV, Dupont J, Broker K, Godard-Codding, CAJ, O’Hara T. 2020. Assessing δ13C, δ15N and total mercury measures in epidermal biopsies from gray whales. Frontiers in Marine Science 7:133, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00133

Harms CA, McClellan-Green P, Godfrey MH, Christiansen EF, Broadhurst HJ, Godard-Codding, CAJ. 2019. Crude oil and Dispersant cause acute clinicopathologic abnormalities in hatchling loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Frontiers Veterinary Science 6:344. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00344

Brüniche-Olsen Anna, Westerman Rick, Kazmierczyk Zuzanna, Vertyankin Vladimir V, Godard-Codding Céline, Bickham John W, DeWoody J. Andrew. 2018. The inference of gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) population attributes from whole-genome sequences. BMC Evolutionary Biology 18:87. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-018-1204-3

Anna Brüniche-Olsen, Jorge Urban R, Vladimir V Vertyankin, Céline A.J. Godard-Codding, John W Bickham, J. Andrew DeWoody. 2018. Genetic data reveal mixed-stock aggregations of gray whales in the North Pacific Ocean. Biological Letters 14:20180399.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0399

Céline Godard-Codding and Tracy Collier. 2018. “The Effects of Oil Exposure on Cetaceans” in Marine Mammal Ecotoxicology: Impacts of Multiple Stressors on Population Health, ISBN: 9780128121443. Edited by Maria Cristina Fossi and Cristina Panti. Elsevier Academic Press.

Céline Godard-Codding and Maria Cristina Fossi. 2018. “Field Sampling Techniques and Ecotoxicological Biomarkers in Cetaceans” in Marine Mammal Ecotoxicology: impacts of multiple stressors on population Health, ISBN: 9780128121443. Edited by Maria Cristina Fossi and Cristina Panti. Elsevier Academic Press.

Rousselet, E., Levine, M., Gebhard, E., Higgins, B., DeGuise, S., Godard-Codding, C. 2017. Polychlorinated biphenyls modulate both phagocytosis and NK cell activity in vitro in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A 80 (10-12), 556-561. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15287394.2017.1363102

Hayden M, Bhawal, R, Escobedo, J, Harmon, C, O’Hara, T, Klein, D, San-Francisco, S, Zabet-Moghaddam, M, Godard-Codding, CAJ. 2017. Nanospray Liquid Chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry analysis of steroids from gray whale blubber. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 31, 1088-1094. DOI: 10.1002/rcm.7884. This article was one of the journal’s top 20 most downloaded papers in the 12-months post online publication.

DeWoody, JA, Fernandez, NB, Brüniche-Olsen, A, Antonides, JD, Doyle, JM, San Miguel, P, Westerman, R, Vertyankin, VV, Godard-Codding, CAJ, Bickham, JW. 2017. Characterization of the Gray Whale Eschrichtius robustus Genome and a Genotyping Array Based on Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Candidate Genes. Biological Bulletin 232(3), 186-197.

Courtney R. Alexander, Michael J Hooper; Dave Cacela; Kimberly D Smelker; Caleshia S Calvin; Karen M Dean; Steve J Bursian; Fred L Cunningham; Katie C Hanson-Dorr; Katherine E Horak; John P Isanhart; Jane Link; Susan A Shriner; Céline A Godard-Codding. CYP1A Protein Expression and Catalytic Activity in Double-crested Cormorants Experimentally Exposed to Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 Oil. Special Issue: Effects of Oil on Birds. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 142, 79-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.02.049

Bursian, S.J., Alexander, C.R., Cacela, D., Cunningham, F.L., Dean, K.M., Dorr, B.S., Ellis, C.K., Godard-Codding, C.A., Guglielmo, C.G., Hanson-Dorr, K.C., Harr, K.E., Healy, K.A., Hooper, M.J., Horak, K.E., Isanhart, J.P., Kennedy, L.V., Link, J.E., Maggini, I., Moye, J.M., Perez, C.R., Pritsos, C.A., Shriner, S.A., Trust, K.A., Tuttle, P.L. Overview of Avian Toxicity Studies for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 142, 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.03.046

Zychowski GV and Godard-Codding CAJ. 2017. Critical review: Reptilian exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and associated effects. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 36, 25-35. DOI: 10.1002/etc.3602. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3602/full

White, Natasha D, Godard-Codding, Céline, Webb, Sarah J., Bossart, Gregory D., Fair, Patricia A. 2016. Immunotoxic Effects of In Vitro Exposure of Dolphin Lymphocytes to Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil and Corexit. Journal of Applied Toxicology. DOI 10.1002/jat.3414

Parsons ECM, Baulch S, Bechshoft T, Bellazzi G, Bouchet P, Cosentino AM, Godard-Codding CAJ, Gulland F, Hoffmann-Kuhnt M, Hoyt E, Livermore S, MacLeod CD, Matrai E, Munger L, Ochiai M, Peyman A, Recalde-Salas A, Regnery R, Rojas-Bracho L, Salgado-Kent CP, Slooten E, Wang JY, Wilson SC, Wright AJ, Young S, Zwamborn E, and Sutherland WJ. 2014. Key research questions of global importance for cetacean conservation. Endangered Species Research 27, 113-118

Sarah J. Webb, Gregory V. Zychowski, Sandy W. Bauman, Benjamin M. Higgins, Terje Raudsepp, Lauren S. Gollahon, Kimberly J. Wooten, Jennifer M. Cole, and Céline Godard-Codding. 2014. Establishment, Characterization, and Toxicological Application of Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) Primary Skin Fibroblast Cell Cultures. Environmental Science & Technology, 48, 14728-14737.

Suedel B, Clarke J, Lutz C, Clarke D, Godard-Codding CAJ, and Maul J. 2014. Suspended sediment effects on walleye (Sanders vitreus). Journal of Great Lakes Research 40: 141-148.

Rousselet E, Levin M, Gebhard E, Higgins BM, DeGuise S, and Godard-Codding CAJ. 2013. Evaluation of immune functions in captive immature loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 156(1-2):43-53. DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2013.09.004

Rousselet E, Stacy N, LaVictoire K, Higgins BM, Tocidlowski M, Flanagan JP, and Godard-Codding CAJ. 2013. Hematology and plasma biochemistry analytes in five age groups of immature, captive-reared loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta).  Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 44(4): 859-874. DOI: 10.1638/2012-0162R1.1

Clark RA, Johnson CM, Johnson G, Payne R, Kerr I, Anderson, RC, Sattar, SA, Godard CAJ, Madsen PT. 2012. Cetacean sightings and acoustic detections in the offshore waters of the Maldives during the northeast monsoon seasons of 2003 and 2004. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 12 (2): 227-234.

Godard-Codding CAJ, Clark R, Fossi MC, Marsili L, Maltese S, West AG, Valenzuela L, Rowntree V, Ildiko Polyak, Cannon JC, Pinkerton K, Rubio-Cisneros N, Mesnick S, Cox SB, Kerr I, Payne R, and Stegeman JJ. 2011. Pacific Ocean–wide Profile of CYP1A1 Expression, Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios, and Organic Contaminant Burden in Sperm Whale Skin Biopsies. Environmental Health Perspectives 119 (3): 337-343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0901809

Depledge MH, Godard-Codding CAJ, Bowen RE.2010. Light pollution in the sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60:1383-1385.

Brausch JM, Blackwell BR, Beall BN, Caudillo C, Venkata K, Godard-Codding CAJ, Cox SB., Cobb G, Smith PN. 2010. Effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 73, 540-551.

Smith PN, Cobb G, Godard-Codding CAJ, Hoff D, McMurry ST, Rainwater TR, Reynolds KD. 2007.  Invited review.  Contaminant exposure in terrestrial vertebrates. Environmental Pollution, 150, 41-64

Rubio-Cisneros N, Mesnick S, Vazquez-Juarez R, Urban Ramirez J, Godard CAJ, Payne R and A Dizon..  2006.  Genetic sex determination supports the Gulf of California as an important habitat for sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).  Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 5(2), 125-128.

Godard CAJ, Wise SS, Kelly, RS, Goodale, B, Kraus S, Romano T, O’Hara T and JP Wise Sr.  2006.  Benzo[a]pyrene cytotoxicity in right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) skin, testis and lung cell lines.  Marine Environmental Research, 62:S20-S24.

Godard CAJ, Goldstone JV, Said MS, Dickerson RL, Woodin BR and JJ Stegeman.  2005.  The new vertebrate CYP1C family: Cloning of new subfamily members and phylogenetic analysis.  Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 331, 1016-1024.

Godard CAJ, Smolowitz RM, Wilson JY, Payne RS, and JJ Stegeman.  2004.  Induction of cetacean cytochrome P4501A1 by β-naphthoflavone exposure of skin biopsy slices.  Toxicological Sciences, 80, 268-275.

Godard CAJ, Leaver MJ, Said M, Dickerson RL, George S and JJ Stegeman.  2000.  Identification of cytochrome P450 1B-like sequences in two teleost fish species (scup, Stenotomus chrysops and plaice, Pleuronectes platessa) and in a cetacean (striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba).  Marine Environmental Research 50, 7-10.

Peden-Adams M, Alonso K, Godard C, Skipper S, Mashburn W, Hoover J, Charbonneau C, Henshel D, and R Dickerson.  1998.  Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD on domestic chicken immune function and CYP450 activity: F1 generation and egg injection studies.  Chemosphere 37 (9-12):1923-1939.