NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Oxidative stress and immune function markers to elucidate and differentiate impacts of acute and chronic stress in marine mammals

2019 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：氧化应激和免疫功能标记物，以阐明和区分急性和慢性应激对海洋哺乳动物的影响

• 批准号: 1907155
• 负责人: David Ensminger
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Ensminger, David Charles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-11-01 至 2021-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1907155&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. As the human population grows, so does the level of interaction between humans and wildlife. Stressors, such as noise, pollution, and habitat destruction, typically have negative consequences on the health and survival of wild animals. However, the ways these stressors cause detrimental effects is poorly understood. This project will test the effects of long-term stress exposure in marine mammals and discover the biochemical mechanisms. These results will help develop accurate methods to assess the health status of animals that experience environmental stressors. This project has a strong public outreach component, will broaden participation of underrepresented groups, and will provide mentorship and training by the fellow for undergraduate and graduate students. Through this project, the fellow will develop a lesson plan on wildlife conservation and research for implementation in grade schools in the local area. The fellow will also facilitate student participation in the field and laboratory through collaboration with UC Berkeley organizations focused on promoting inclusivity and student retention.Environmental and ecological stressors increase the concentration of circulating glucocorticoids in affected animals, potentially altering their behavior, physiology, and fitness. However, the consequences of prolonged exposure to high levels of glucocorticoids remain elusive in many species, and particularly in marine mammals. Such a lack of knowledge hinders our ability to predict and assess health outcomes of increased exposure to environmental stressors and anthropogenic activities. This project will examine the impacts of glucocorticoid exposure on cellular and whole-body level responses in marine mammals by experimentally elevating glucocorticoids or blocking their action. The fellow will specifically examine the effects of short- and long-term glucocorticoid exposure on several health-relevant measures including reactive oxygen species generation, oxidative stress, inflammation, and immune function using a combination of primary cells in culture and whole animal studies with free-ranging elephant seals. The results of this project will help identify pathways responsible for health effects following short- or long-term exposure to stress. This will allow better prediction of negative consequences of increased environmental and anthropogenic stressors and identify potential biological indicators of stress in marine mammals and other at-risk species to facilitate their management.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项行动资助了2019财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。随着人口的增长，人类与野生动物之间的互动程度也在增加。压力源，如噪音、污染和栖息地破坏，通常会对野生动物的健康和生存产生负面影响。然而，人们对这些压力源造成有害影响的方式知之甚少。该项目将测试海洋哺乳动物长期压力暴露的影响，并发现生化机制。这些结果将有助于开发准确的方法来评估经历环境压力的动物的健康状况。该项目有一个强有力的公共外联部分，将扩大代表性不足的群体的参与，并将由研究员为本科生和研究生提供指导和培训。通过这个项目，该研究员将制定一个关于野生动物保护和研究的课程计划，供当地小学实施。该研究员还将通过与加州大学伯克利分校组织合作，促进学生参与实地和实验室，重点是促进包容性和学生保留。环境和生态压力增加受影响动物的循环糖皮质激素浓度，可能改变他们的行为，生理和健身。然而，长期暴露于高水平的糖皮质激素的后果仍然难以捉摸的许多物种，特别是在海洋哺乳动物。这种知识的缺乏阻碍了我们预测和评估环境压力源和人类活动增加对健康的影响。该项目将通过实验提高糖皮质激素或阻断其作用，研究糖皮质激素暴露对海洋哺乳动物细胞和全身反应的影响。该研究员将专门研究短期和长期糖皮质激素暴露对几种健康相关措施的影响，包括活性氧生成，氧化应激，炎症和免疫功能，使用培养中的原代细胞和自由放养的海象的整体动物研究相结合。该项目的结果将有助于确定短期或长期暴露于压力后对健康影响的途径。这将有助于更好地预测环境和人为压力源增加的负面后果，并确定海洋哺乳动物和其他风险物种的压力的潜在生物指标，以促进其管理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

项目成果

Repeated stimulation of the HPA axis alters white blood cell count without increasing oxidative stress or inflammatory cytokines in fasting elephant seal pups

反复刺激 HPA 轴会改变禁食象海豹幼崽的白细胞计数，但不会增加氧化应激或炎症细胞因子

• DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243198
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Experimental Biology
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Ensminger, David C.;Crocker, Daniel E.;Lam, Emily K.;Allen, Kaitlin N.;Vázquez-Medina, José Pablo
• 通讯作者: Vázquez-Medina, José Pablo

Launching a saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 surveillance testing program on a university campus.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251296
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: PloS one
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Ehrenberg AJ;Moehle EA;Brook CE;Doudna Cate AH;Witkowsky LB;Sachdeva R;Hirsh A;Barry K;Hamilton JR;Lin-Shiao E;McDevitt S;Valentin-Alvarado L;Letourneau KN;Hunter L;Keller A;Pestal K;Frankino PA;Murley A;Nandakumar D;Stahl EC;Tsuchida CA;Gildea HK;Murdock AG;Hochstrasser ML;O'Brien E;Ciling A;Tsitsiklis A;Worden K;Dugast-Darzacq C;Hays SG;Barber CC;McGarrigle R;Lam EK;Ensminger DC;Bardet L;Sherry C;Harte A;Nicolette G;Giannikopoulos P;Hockemeyer D;Petersen M;Urnov FD;Ringeisen BR;Boots M;Doudna JA;IGI SARS-CoV-2 Testing Consortium
• 通讯作者: IGI SARS-CoV-2 Testing Consortium