Project Description: |
Research in my laboratory tests the hypothesis that environmental factors associated with food availability modulate the development of adult reproductive function. In female animals, puberty and reproduction can be prevented by small changes in food availability, whereas males appear to be less susceptible. It is plausible that environmental factors such as the time of weaning, food availability, or nutrient type alter neural mechanisms that regulate puberty and reproduction. The neural mediator between nutritional status and reproduction is not known. Galanin-like peptide (GALP) appears to have a primary role in the regulation of reproduction; furthermore, GALP gene activity is solely regulated by metabolic signals. GALP may be an important mediator between nutrition and reproduction, and thus a central target for metabolic signals that are responsible for governing the timing of the onset of puberty. The aims of my research are 1) to determine the effects of altered nutritional environments alter the ontogeny of GALP gene expression, 2) to determine the role of hypothalamic GALP in regulating reproductive development, and 3) to understand the neural mechanisms underlying the sex differences in the timing of the onset of puberty. Students in my laboratory participate in all aspects of research: development of hypotheses, experimental design, data acquisition and analysis, and scientific writing. Students combine behavioral, histological and molecular biological approaches to understand how internal and external environmental factors alter biological systems involved with reproductive development. |
