Rate My Professor Erin Damsteegt

Dr. Erin Damsteegt is a Research Fellow and BIOL 112 Teaching Fellow in the Department of Zoology, Sciences Division, at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She completed a BSc (Honours) in Zoology and a PhD at the University of Otago. After her doctorate, Damsteegt undertook a Post-Doctoral research position shared between King’s College London and the University of Roehampton in the United Kingdom, before returning to her current role at Otago. Her career has focused on reproductive physiology in teleost fishes, with extensive work on eels and other species.

Damsteegt's research interests encompass lipid dynamics during maturation in freshwater eels, drivers of semelparity in salmonids, endocrine control of oogenesis, involvement of androgens in female reproduction, osmoregulation in teleosts, vitellogenesis, steroids, sex change, and aquaculture. Key publications include 'Lipoprotein biology during induced oogenesis in the shortfinned eel, Anguilla australis: Vascular transport' (Damsteegt et al., 2025, Fishes); 'Releasing stored lipids to fuel migration and reproduction in the eel, Anguilla australis: A role for 11-ketotestosterone?' (Lokman et al., 2025, Fish Physiology & Biochemistry); 'Lipoprotein receptors in ovary of eel, Anguilla australis: Molecular characterisation of putative vitellogenin receptors' (Babio et al., 2023, Fish Physiology & Biochemistry); 'Genes involved in sex differentiation, epigenetic reprogramming, and cell fate regulate sex change in a wrasse' (Muncaster et al., 2023, Reviews in Fish Biology & Fisheries); 'Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of the Giant Mottled Eel, Anguilla marmorata, in Central Vietnam' (Nguyen et al., 2022, Fishes); 'Artificial induction of maturation in female silver eels, Anguilla australis: The benefits of androgen pre-treatment' (Lokman et al., 2015); 'How do eggs get fat? Insights into ovarian fatty acid accumulation in the shortfinned eel, Anguilla australis' (Damsteegt et al., 2015); and 'Triacylglyceride physiology in the short-finned eel, Anguilla australis—changes throughout early oogenesis' (Damsteegt et al., 2015). She contributes as an Early Career Editorial Board Member for the journal Fishes, reflecting her standing in fish physiology and endocrinology.