CAA: The Neurochemical Basis of Puberty in Ferrets

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9707642 Ryan Career Advancement Awards expand the opportunity for women researchers to advance their career. Dr. Ryan will use these funds to acquire new anatomical and neurochemical skills that will expand her research capabilities that can then be used to tackle the understanding of the neural mechanisms underling puberty. Puberty is defined by the process of sexual maturation during which an individual becomes fertile. Dr. Ryan is interested in the neural mechanisms controlling the onset of puberty. She is using an animal model in which puberty can be advanced or delayed by modulating the ambient photoperiod. Thus, Dr. Ryan can compare animals of the same age, some of which were within a known number of days from maturation, or already mature, and others which were still immature and would remain so for several months longer. Evidence suggests that two systems, the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) system and the dopamine secreting neurons in hypothalamic regions, may be involved in onset of puberty. With the Career Advancement Award, she will learn state-of-the-art neuroanatomical techniques to identify and track the function of these two major neuronal systems. She will also learn the procedure and then set up in vivo microdialysis in her own laboratory to enable an analysis of the neurotransmitters during the pubertal process. These techniques can then be used in her model system to provide a better understanding of the neural and hormonal mechanisms underlying a major developmental process, puberty.