Investigating the Molecular, Neurophysiological and Behavioral Effects of Hypoxia in Marine Mollusks

科学与技术卓越研究中心博士后研究奖学金（CREST- prf）项目支持具有重大潜力的CREST中心研究人员，并为他们提供培训和研究经验，以拓宽视野，促进跨学科互动，并使他们在科学界处于领导地位。该CREST- prf项目与波多黎各大学CREST环境神经科学中心的研究重点相一致。本研究的目的是让博士后接受动物神经生理学和发育生物学方面的培训。拟议的研究将建立在他在表观遗传学、分子生物学和生态毒理学方面的背景之上。这位博士后打算与公众接触，以促进沿海城市生态系统的保护工作，通过积极的指导和教学，扩大生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与，并促进波多黎各大学与南佛罗里达州少数民族服务机构之间的科学合作。越来越多的证据表明，受发育和环境信号影响的表观遗传机制在调节基因表达和潜在地调节行为和记忆方面起着至关重要的作用。然而，目前尚不清楚环境暴露驱动的表观遗传修饰如何影响短期和长期的行为反应。提出的工作的目的是解开表观遗传效应的建立和可塑性的行为反应的压力。这项工作将研究分子、细胞和行为对缺氧的反应之间的联系；评估对应激源的分子和狭义可塑性的遗传以及由此产生的行为结果；研究这些塑料在沿海城市环境中的反应，以及最近缺氧事件的历史。神经组织学方法，包括免疫组织化学和染料注射，有望使博士后能够研究单个已识别的神经元。再加上他之前的训练，这位博士后有潜力以独特的位置开始独立的职业生涯，研究环境扰动对神经功能的表观遗传影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (CREST-PRF) track within the CREST program supports beginning CREST Center investigators with significant potential and provides them with training and research experiences that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and establish them in positions of leadership within the scientific community. This CREST-PRF project is aligned with the research focus of the CREST Center for Environmental Neuroscience at the University of Puerto Rico. The goal of this research is for the post doctoral fellow to receive training in animal neurophysiology and developmental biology. The proposed research will build on the fellow's background in epigenetics, molecular biology, and ecotoxicology. The postdoctoral fellow intends to engage with the public to promote conservation efforts focused on coastal urban ecosystems, broaden the participation of groups underrepresented in biology through active mentoring and teaching, and promote scientific collaboration between Puerto Rican universities and minority serving institutions in South Florida.Accumulating evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms, which are influenced by developmental and environmental signals, play a crucial role in regulating gene expression and potentially modulate behavior and memory. However, it is unclear how environmental-exposure-driven epigenetic modifications could affect short and long-term behavioral responses. The intent of the proposed work is to disentangle epigenetic effects in the establishment and plasticity of behavioral responses to stress. The proposed work will investigate linkages between molecular, cellular, and behavioral responses to hypoxia; evaluate the inheritance of molecular and narrow plasticity to stressors and the resulting behavior outcomes; and studying these plastic responses in coastal urban environments with a recent history of hypoxic events. Neurohistology methods, including immunohistochemistry and dye injection are expected to enable the postdoctoral fellow to work on individual identified neurons. Coupled with his prior training, the post-doctoral fellow has the potential to be uniquely positioned to embark on an independent career studying epigenetic impacts of environmental perturbations on neurological function.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.