Research Initiation Award: The Epigenomic Adaptations of Marine Mammal Skin

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Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improve research and teaching at the home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to Hampton University has potential to broaden impacts in several areas. Undergraduate students will receive training in state of the art molecular and bioinformatics methods and work with graduate students from marine and environmental science. The PI will integrate their research in the classroom. The study of marine mammal skin has important implications with respect to understanding fundamental biology.Marine mammal skin has remarkable adaptations to the aquatic environment, including high rates of cell turn over and increased wound-healing capabilities. The central goal of this project is to investigate whether these adaptations are reflected in the epigenome, specifically in microRNAs (miRNAs), which are non-coding short RNAs with a pervasive role in gene expression regulation. To date, miRNAs have not been characterized for most non-model organisms, including marine mammals. This project will make use of small RNA sequencing technology and established analytical platforms to identify and quantify miRNAs in common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) skin tissues and conduct inter-lineage comparisons with mammal species that have contrasting life histories. While highlighting the epigenomic adaptations of marine mammal skin to life in the aquatic environment, this project will also assess the feasibility of using miRNAs as biomarkers for monitoring marine mammal health.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.