Studies in molecular biology in the Division of Biological Sciences explore a diverse array of biological phenomena in a variety of organisms using an extensive range of approaches. Areas of particular concentration include neuronal development and plasticity, cellular signaling, and plant growth and development. Research in this area benefits from several campus research core facilities.
Faculty
Establishment and maintenance of epithelial tissue architecture
Gene Environment Interactions and Epigenetics
Genetic control of carbon partitioning in plants
Molecular basis for polar growth in Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Generation and characterization of animal models to study genetics and disease
Mechanisms regulating neuronal development and physiology in vertebrates
Signaling and activity of skeletal muscle satellite cells
The premise of my research is that we can learn from animals that overcome metabolic challenges in the brain to gain overarching insights into brain diseases. In my academic trajectory, I have been studying metabolic physiology across scales of organization, from whole animals all the way down to synapses.
Postdoctoral research: The brain requires a lot of energy to function, and if these requirements are not met, circuit dysfunction and neural death follow. Much like mammals, brain activity in American bullfrogs quickly fails in hypoxia. However, we described that after emergence from overwintering, circuits transform to function ~30-fold longer without oxygen using only anaerobic glycolysis for fuel. Following these findings, I investigate neurophysiological processes that transform brain function to maintain performance during oxygen deprivation, avoiding dysfunction and damage.
Establishment and maintenance of epithelial tissue architecture
Staphylococcus aureus stress responses at the host-pathogen interface
Influence of insect-associated microbes on host phenotype
Ovarian reserve formation, maintenance, and its associated ovarian dysfunction and diseases
Circuit stability, energetics, plasticity, and respiratory physiology
Mechanisms by which maternal physiology influences development of placenta.
Neural network plasticity as a result of injury and disease
Meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA and sexual development in fungi
Molecular mechanisms regulating cellular signaling in plants
Understanding and predicting the genetic and physiological basis of plant phenotypes
Genetic dissection of synaptic plasticity, neural circuitry, and behavior in fruit flies
