Faculty
are listed by Department within their Research Areas,
with descriptions of their active projects.
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
MICHAEL J. BAUM
Professor of Biology; PhD, McGill University
Research Interests: I study the steroidal control of brain and behavioral sexual differentiation
in ferrets and mice. This work employs immunocytochemistry, computer-assisted
imaging analysis, radioimmunoassay of sex steroids and reproductively
relevant neuropeptides, intra-cranial administration of neurotoxins,
neural tract tracing compounds and other pharmacological agents,
as well as the observation and registration of reproductive and
olfactory behaviors.
GLORIA V. CALLARD
Professor of Biology; PhD, Rutgers University
Research Interests: Molecular and cellular physiology of aromatase (estrogen synthetase),
estrogen and androgen receptors, and genomic mechanisms of steroid
action in the brain, pituitary and retina; structure of the aromatase
gene(s) and promoters, and transcriptional control mechanisms; regulation
of the aromatization reaction; consequences of neuroestrogen formation
and estrogen receptor occupancy for neural gene expression, neuronal
growth and differentiation.
JAMES TRANIELLO
Professor of Biology; PhD, Harvard University
Research Interests: The remarkable evolutionary and ecological success of the ants is
often attributed to their social organization, at the heart of which
is the division of labor among workers according to their size and
age. We study how behavioral variation in worker castes is related
to neural polymorphism in the brain.
Darwin's sense of wonder was excited by the ant brain's
capability of ”extraordinary mental activity with an extremely
small absolute mass of nervous matter." We feel the same way.
Our research concerns the comparative evolutionary neuroanatomy
of caste and division of labor in ants and the neurochemistry of
behavioral development. We use immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy,
neurohistology and image analysis to quantify age- and size-related
changes in the compartments of the brain (the antennal and optic
lobes and the mushroom bodies, which are the centers of sensory
integration and learning) that control social behavior. Our integrative
studies connect sociobiology, ecology and neuroscience to understand
the selective forces that lead to the evolution of brain structure
and how a miniscule brain meets the demands of processing complex
information at the level of the individual and society as a whole.
ERIC WIDMAIER
Associate Professor of Biology; PhD,
University of California at San Francisco
Research Interests:The role of glucose and fatty acids in regulation of neuroendocrine
activity; the role of Neuropeptide Y in the control of diurnal and
seasonal feeding. A combined approach using the tools of cell biology,
biochemistry, and whole animal studies is used to study these problems.
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PHARMACOLOGY
SUSAN E. LEEMAN
Professor; PhD, Radcliffe College
Research Interests: Work continues to focus on the two peptides, substance P (SP) and
neurotensin, that were isolated and chemically defined in this laboratory.
Projects that are currently under way relating to the biochemistry
and pharmacology of SP include studies to determine the binding
domains of SP with its receptor using photoactivatable derivatives
of SP containing the photoreactive amino acid benzoylphenylalanine;
to determine the binding domains of an antagonist of SP, CP 96,345
using a photoactivatable derivative of this compound; the role of
SP in inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract using
non-peptide SP antagonists to inhibit intestinal responses to Clostridium
difficile Toxin A; the characterization of calcium signals generated
by administration of SP to CHO cells transfected with mRNA encoding
the full-length SP receptor and a truncated form of the SP receptor
missing the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail; the effects of stress on
the SP responsive functional properties of peritoneal macrophages
elicited by thioglycolate administration. A new project is the development
of a diphtheria toxin-related SP-fusion protein that is cytotoxic
for cells expressing SP receptors.
Projects relating to neurotensin in the CNS
focus mainly on the participation of neurotensin in the central
nervous system regulation of LH secretion. A study on the effect
of estrogen on the decreasing abundance of mRNA encoding the neurotensin
receptor in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of female rats is in progress.
In addition, a project has been initiated to study the interactions
of NT and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) on responses of the
intestine and colon to immobilization stress in rats.
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