Research Initiative Award: The Dark Side of Light: Gestational and Generational Impact of Light Pollution on Brain Development and Fecundity

历史上的黑人学院和大学本科课程（HBCU-UP）通过研究启动奖为历史上的黑人学院和大学的初级和中级职业教师提供支持，他们正在建立新的研究项目或重新定向和重建现有的研究项目。预计该奖项将有助于进一步提高教师的研究能力和效率，并改善家庭机构的研究和教学。这个奖项给哈里斯-斯托州立大学支持教师和本科生的研究经验，他们的努力，以确定在怀孕期间在后代的时间中断光照的影响。 鉴于光提供了许多使生物体能够适应其环境的信息，重要的是要努力了解光污染对哺乳动物胚胎编程的不利和有害影响，作为保护生物多样性的基础研究。该项目的总体目标是阐明怀孕期间的表观遗传和激素机制以及与后代大脑发育和繁殖力的关系。据推测，不定时的妊娠光照是一个可改变的因素，使夜间和昼夜哺乳动物的母胎表观遗传和激素信号转导减少，这使成年后代的认知和生殖健康状况变差。因此，利用日间草鼠和夜间啮齿动物模型，将进行转录分析，以确定子宫内的海马，行为和生殖神经发育。该项目还旨在通过恢复妊娠期间的褪黑激素和皮质酮节律来确定重置表观遗传和激素损伤的分子基础。预计拟议的研究将产生关于妊娠期间受光照影响的神经和生殖系统发育基础的新知识。本科生参与该项目，再加上努力组织学生参与和社区组织研讨会，旨在提高人们对光污染影响的认识，很可能会提高哈里斯-斯托州立大学的机构地位。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是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的支持。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through 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 and improve research and teaching at the home institution. This award to Harris-Stowe State University supports faculty and undergraduate research experiences in their efforts to determine the impact of light exposure on chrono-disruption during pregnancy in off-spring. Given that light provides much of the information that enables organisms to adapt to their environment, it is important that efforts are made to understand the adverse and deleterious effects of light pollution in mammalian fetal programming, serving as a foundational study to preserving biodiversity. The overall goal of this project is to elucidate the epigenetic and hormonal mechanisms during pregnancy and the relationship with offspring brain development and fecundity. It is hypothesized that mistimed gestational light is a modifiable factor that desynchronizes maternal-fetal epigenetic and hormonal signaling across both nocturnal and diurnal mammals, which predisposes adult offspring to poor cognitive and reproductive health. Thus, utilizing diurnal grass rat and nocturnal rodent models, transcriptional analyses will be conducted to identify hippocampal, behavioral, and reproductive neurodevelopment in utero. The project also aims to identify the molecular basis to reset epigenetic and hormonal impairments by restoring melatonin and corticosterone rhythm during gestation. It is anticipated that the proposed studies will generate new knowledge regarding the underpinnings of neurological and reproductive system development as affected by light during gestation. The engagement of undergraduate students in this project, coupled with efforts to organize student-involved and community organization workshops aimed at raising awareness of the impact of light pollution, are likely to enhance the institutional prominence of Harris-Stowe State University.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.