Lecturer in Neuroscience
Education
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biology (1995)
Areas of Expertise
Development and regeneration
Zebrafish heart development
Genetic influences on stress behavior in zebrafish
K-12 science outreach
Courses
BIOL 455 / NSCI 455 SEM
Neural Regeneration (not offered 2023/24)Research
My chief research interests are cardiovascular development and the molecular mechanisms underlying variations in stress reactivity, using zebrafish as a model organism. Exposure to early life stress can lead to lifelong changes in stress responses, putting individuals at greater risk of developing mood disorders. My lab investigates the molecular responses to stress in zebrafish. We are particularly interested in epigenetic regulation of genes in the stress-response pathway, focusing on fkbp5. This gene may hold promise as a target for drug development to treat the consequences of dysregulation of the stress response. Zebrafish are an excellent model in which to study the developing heart, the most common organ to suffer birth defects in humans. Heart development is influenced by cellular receptors for numerous factors, and is therefore vulnerable to the effects of environmental chemicals such as endocrine disruptors. My lab is investigating the influence of estrogen-like compounds on heart development.
Courses
Summer Research Session
Research data analysis
Students will learn to analyze diverse data sets. Courses on the use of R, Python, and statistical methods are all available on the learning platform, in flexible, self-paced modules. Faculty researchers will guide their students in applications to analysis of their research data.
A message from the platform: This class is supported by DataCamp, an intuitive learning platform for data science and analytics.
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Fall
NSCI 212: Introduction to Neuroscience (lab instructor)
A study of the relationship between brain, mind, and behavior. Topics include a survey of the structure and function of the nervous system, basic neurophysiology, development, learning and memory, sensory and motor systems, consciousness and clinical disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, Parkinson’s disease, and addiction. The laboratory focuses on current topics in neuroscience.
Winter Study
BIOL 11: Project BioEyes (co-instructor)
BioEYES brings tropical fish to 3rd-grade classrooms in Williamstown, North Adams, and Lanesborough Elementary schools, in a science teaching workshop. Elementary school students will breed fish at the school, then study their development and pigmentation during one week. Williams students will adapt BioEYES lesson plans to the science curriculum for the schools we visit, work with classroom teachers to introduce concepts in genetics and development, help the 3rd-grade students in the classroom, and assess elementary student learning. No zebrafish experience is necessary; during the first week, students will learn to set up fish matings and learn about embryonic development and the genetics of fish pigmentation as well as practice teaching the 3rd-grade BioEYES lesson plans with hands-on experiments using living animals. In the subsequent three weeks, students will present lessons at the schools and review assessment data.
Spring
BIOL 455: Neural Regeneration
Injury to the human nervous system can cause lasting impairment, but non-mammalian animals have prodigious capacity to regenerate neurons, regrow axons, and repair scars. Regeneration—whether through neuronal replacement, repair or repurposing—will be explored by investigating the molecular foundations that underlie neuronal proliferation, neural plasticity, and inflammatory responses. We will consider the potential for translating these findings to aid humans who suffer from neural injury or neurodegenerative disease.
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