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

这一行动为NSF 2019财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大了生物学领域代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中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不断提高。噪音、污染和栖息地破坏等应激源通常会对野生动物的健康和生存产生负面影响。然而，人们对这些应激源造成有害影响的方式知之甚少。该项目将测试长期应激暴露对海洋哺乳动物的影响，并发现其生化机制。这些结果将有助于开发准确的方法来评估经历环境应激源的动物的健康状况。该项目有强大的公众宣传部分，将扩大代表性不足群体的参与，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，该研究员将制定野生动物保护和研究的教案，并在当地小学实施。该研究员还将通过与加州大学伯克利分校专注于促进包容性和学生保留的组织合作，促进学生参与野外和实验室活动。环境和生态应激源增加受影响动物体内循环中糖皮质激素的浓度，潜在地改变它们的行为、生理和体能。然而，在许多物种中，特别是在海洋哺乳动物中，长期接触高水平糖皮质激素的后果仍然难以捉摸。这种知识的缺乏阻碍了我们预测和评估暴露在环境应激源和人为活动中的健康后果的能力。该项目将通过实验升高或阻断糖皮质激素的作用，研究糖皮质激素暴露对海洋哺乳动物细胞和全身水平反应的影响。这位研究员将特别研究短期和长期接触糖皮质激素对几种与健康相关的指标的影响，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象海豹的全动物研究相结合。该项目的结果将有助于确定短期或长期暴露在压力下对健康造成影响的途径。这将允许更好地预测环境和人为应激源增加的负面后果，并确定海洋哺乳动物和其他濒危物种的潜在生物应激指标，以便于它们的管理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.