Responsibilities

• Responsible for the functioning of the Achotines Laboratory in the Republic of Panama.
• Development and local coordination of collaborative research between the Early Life History Group and international scientific organizations.
• Management of the personnel and budget of the Achotines Laboratory working in consultation with the Head of Program.

Education

• Master of Advanced Studies, Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 2011.
• Degree in Biology With Orientation in Environmental Biology, National University of Panama, Republic of Panama, 2007.

Biography

Susana Cusatti is a member of the Early Life History Group in the Biology Program. She joined the IATTC staff in 2009 to work as a supervisory biologist at the Achotines Laboratory, Republic of Panama. Since August 2023, she has been in charge of the IATTC Achotines Laboratory in the Republic of Panama. Susana's responsibilities include capturing and cultivating broodstock tunas, coordinating and participating in field and laboratory research conducted by the IATTC Early Life History Group, and locally coordinating joint research between IATTC scientists and other researchers around the world working on tuna-related topics. She also coordinates research and workshops in other branches of science conducted at the Achotines Laboratory as part of collaborations between national and international institutions and organizations. She also manages the development and maintenance of the laboratory's infrastructure and the operation of the seawater systems necessary to maintain larval, juvenile, and adult tunas in captivity.