Faculty Research Interests
One of the opportunities available to students in Biology at Trinity is a direct involvement in independent research with a faculty member. Many students do research as seniors and in the summer before their senior year; others initiate research as early as their first or second year at Trinity.
Students with interests in conducting research should talk to faculty members during the semester before initiation of the project; those who are seeking a paid position for the summer must arrange it with faculty in the preceding fall semester or early in the spring semester. If you are contemplating research, discuss it with the faculty member whose programs fit your interests; the research projects of the faculty are summarized below. Also keep in mind that some students engage in research programs in local hospital laboratories under the joint supervision of the Biology Department and the extramural laboratory. Please direct inquiries about these options to the Chair of Biology.
Prof. Heather L. Bennett (LSC 336) – Genetics and Neurobiology of various hypoxic states in C. elegans
Oxygen is required to support all biological processes in most multicellular organisms. Hypoxic
and anoxic insult, inadequate or no supply of oxygen respectively, can cause cell damage and
lead to long-term health issues. When multi-cellular organisms encounter inadequate oxygen
conditions, they alter their overall physiology and reduce their overall activity, likely reducing
metabolic (energy) demands. The genetic, molecular, and neural mechanisms underlying
responses to hypoxic and anoxic conditions is not fully understood. We use Caenorhabditis
elegans, C. elegans, to understand the molecular mechanisms, as well as the neural
underpinnings required for C. elegans to adapt to and survive hypoxic and anoxic environments.
My research program takes an interdisciplinary approach, where I use genetics, molecular
biology, and neurobiological techniques in our studies.
Currently we have three active areas of research in the lab:
- Genetics, molecular, and neural mechanisms underlying different hypoxic states.
- C. elegans neuropeptides, non-classical neurotransmitters, in regulating behavioral
responses to hypoxic and anoxic conditions. - Molecular and neural mechanisms by which neuropeptides and lipid metabolism mediate
responses to hypoxia and anoxia.
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Bennett if you are interested in pursuing research with him. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Bennett and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
Prof. Kent Dunlap (LSC 245) – Electrocommunication & Physiology of Electric Fish
I examine environmental and hormonal influences on cell production in the adult brain. In the last few decades, it has become clear that adult mammals produce new cells at low rates in a two brain regions. I examine this phenomenon of neurogenesis in fish, which produce cells all over the brain and at rates 10-100 times greater than mammals. In past research, my students and I have demonstrated that social interaction and adrenal steroid hormones increase the production of brain cells in regions of the brain that regulate social behavior.
More recently, we have examined how predator exposure inhibits the production of cells in brain regions that regulate escape behavior. In future experiments we will also examine changes in brain cell proliferation are related to spatial learning. Our study animals are freshwater electric fish native to South America. These fish use weak electric discharges to communicate and to locate objects in their surroundings. Their brain has been thoroughly mapped and the behavioral function of certain brain regions is well understood. Thus, they provide an excellent model for examining how new brain cell production may influence the structure and function of the brain.
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Dunlap if you are interested in pursuing research with him. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Dunlap and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
Prof. Lisa-Anne Foster (LSC 236) – The Role of the Microbiome in Health and Disease
The human gut microbiome is home to trillions of microorganisms that play an essential role in maintaining health and regulating the host immune response. Disruptions to this complex microbial community, a condition known as dysbiosis, have been associated with numerous diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. My research seeks to better understand how beneficial members of the gut microbiome communicate with the host immune system and how these interactions may be harnessed to promote intestinal health.
My laboratory uses the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a genetically tractable model organism, to investigate conserved innate immune pathways that are shared across diverse animal species. This model provides a powerful platform for studying host-microbe interactions at the molecular level while allowing us to examine how specific bacterial species influence immune signaling in a living organism.
Current projects focus on specific gut bacteria, and the molecular mechanisms by which they regulate the innate immune response. I am particularly interested in determining whether prior exposure to these commensal bacteria can alter the host’s response to inflammatory stress by modulating the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, a highly conserved and central regulator of innate immunity. My lab employs fluorescent reporter strains of C. elegans and molecular approaches to characterize bacterial colonization of the nematode as well as how specific bacteria influence immune activation during experimentally induced intestinal inflammation.
In addition to advancing our understanding of innate immunity, my work provides undergraduate students with opportunities to engage in authentic research while developing skills in molecular biology, microbiology, and experimental design.
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Foster if you are interested in pursuing research with her. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Foster and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
Prof. Claire Fournier (LSC 331) — Protein Synthesis
I am interested in looking at the products of protein translation, proteins, in an attempt to understand how mRNA molecules are read by ribosomes in eukaryotic cells. In doing so we can seek to understand how cellular processes can be regulated at the level of protein translation. Specifically, can we make “alternative” proteins from the same mRNA message used during normal cellular function. A time when one could imagine the need for an alternative protein would be in times of stress when the cell needs to redirect its attentions away from normal function to survival. In Budding Yeast, and mammalian cells, stressful conditions result in the production of granules that act as hubs for mRNAs and proteins useful in these times of cell distress. With the help of undergraduates, I am interested to mine these granules in search of alternative protein products using protein purification and peptide mass spectrometry.
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Fournier if you are interested in pursuing research with her. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Fournier and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
Prof. Hebe Guardiola-Diaz (LSC 242) – Biochemistry of Oligodendrocyte Progenitors
Oligodendrocytes are extraordinary cells that form myelin in the central nervous system. In order to produce myelin, oligodendrocyte progenitors proliferate and migrate in response to nutrients and growth factors such as fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). FGFs control cellular biochemistry and metabolism (for example, production of myelin lipids and proteins) via distinct intracellular pathways such as the AKT/mTOR and Erk/MAPK signaling. In my lab, we study these signaling mechanism to unlock the therapeutic potential of oligodendrocytes to form new myelin.
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Guardiola-Diaz if you are interested in pursuing research with her. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Guardiola-Diaz and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
Prof. Rachel Keeffe
My ongoing research involves examining the functional morphology and evolution of vertebrate animals, especially reptiles and amphibians. I leverage morphological, biomechanical, and comparative methods to understand broad patterns of evolution. Some of these methods include CT scanning, 3D modelling, X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), 3D geometric morphometrics, phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) and dissection. Here are several examples of recent and ongoing research in the Keeffe Lab:
- Unravelling the coevolutionary stories of genitalia in vertebrates, especially in lizards and snakes (e.g., squamate reptiles). Vertebrate genitalia are highly morphologically diverse, yet we still know little about why they are so variable compared to other anatomical structures. Their morphological diversity may be driven by coevolution between males and females, sexual selection, and natural selection. Historically, it has been difficult to quantify shape variation in soft tissues, especially those of the vaginal pouch, due to the limitations of traditional 3D landmarking methods. New methods, such as automatic landmarking, now allow us to better quantify 3D shape variation of these complex structures and develop a better understanding of the evolution of genitalia across vertebrates. Recent projects include testing the puncture performance of hemipenial spines in snakes, studying the morphology of rattlesnake genitalia in a hybrid zone, and describing the intraspecific variation of genitalia in the invasive population of Argentine Giant Tegus (Salvator merianae) in Florida.
- Understanding the evolution of feeding and locomotor systems of frogs. Frogs are a highly diverse (> 8000 species) lineage of amphibians with a variety of locomotor modes (ex., arboreal, fossorial, aquatic, etc.) and feeding types (ex., tongue prehension, jaw prehension, suction feeding, etc.), some of which have evolved independently multiple times across the frog tree of life. To better understand why we observe this diversity, we use a combination of functional modeling, comparative anatomy, and biomechanics within a phylogenetic framework to explore the generation and maintenance of form using frogs as a model. Recent projects include testing the biomechanics of fused limb bones across all frog families, examining how the morphology of the hyoid apparatus relates to swallowing mechanics in cane toads (Rhinella marina), and assessing the morphology and biomechanics of fossorial specialists.
More information about my research can be found on my website: https://rmkeeffe.github.io/
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Keeffe if you are interested in pursuing research with him. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Keeffe and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
Prof. Ben Toscano (LSC 302) – The ecology of individuals: Effects on species interactions and community structure
Research in the Toscano Lab challenges a core assumption of community ecology theory: that populations function as homogenous units in their interactions with one another and the abiotic environment. We study how individual-level phenotypic trait variation (e.g., behavior, body size, morphology), the raw material for natural selection, scales up via species interactions to influence population- and community-level dynamics. Our research uses mathematical theory to develop conceptual frameworks that guide lab and field experiments. We utilize model aquatic invertebrate systems (e.g., snails, dragonfly nymphs, stoneflies) that allow unique insight into the mechanistic basis of effects or permit scaling to higher organizational levels.
Click on the email link below to contact Prof. Toscano if you are interested in pursuing research with him. Include the following information: Your name, Class year, cell phone number, your email, and please indicate 1) why you are interested in doing research with Prof. Toscano and 2) what you hope to gain from the research. [email protected]
