Duke University | Howard Hughes Undergraduate Program

2012 VIP Program Projects

 

• Psychoneuroimmunology
• Genetic and Physiological Regulation of Body Size
  
• Neural Mechanisms of Decision-Making
  
• Primate Genomics and the Evolution of Diet
  
• Molecular Biology and Evolution of Olfactory Circuits

1. Psychoneuroimmunology

This VIP team, directed by Staci Bilbo (Neurobiology) and Cagla Eroglu (Neurobiology), focuses on the mechanisms by which early-life events (e.g., stressors, infection, or trauma) may permanently “program” adult cognitive and affective abilities. Students will explore the molecular mechanisms by which glia (e.g., astrocytes and microglia) influence neurons and synapto-genesis within the developing brain, and the cellular and behavioral mechanisms by which bacterial infection early in life leads to vulnerability to cognitive impairments in adulthood. Key to this project is the analysis of cellular function from an integrated and cross-disciplinary perspective, using behavioral, systems, and molecular techniques from psychology, neuroscience, immunology, and cell biology.

2. Genetic and Physiological Regulation of Body Size

This VIP team, directed by Fred Nijhout (Biology) and Mike Reed (Mathematics), will combine methods and approaches that operate at different scales – from genetic-molecular to physiological-organismal – with mathematical modeling to learn how body size is controlled. Students will use C. elegans and M. sexta as model systems to explore the molecular mechanisms by which nutrition and insulin signaling regulate cell growth, and the cellular mechanisms, e.g., mitosis, apoptosis and migration, by which the sizes and shapes of tissues are established. The goal is to understand the mechanisms that influence body size and the processes by which the growth of tissues and organs are regulated so they achieve a correct relationship to the body.

3. Neural Mechanisms and Decision Making

This VIP team project, directed by Nancy Zucker (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences) and Scott Huettel (Psychology & Neuroscience), will investigate whether the tendency to make risky decisions can be predicted by understanding individual differences in genes linked to risky behavior and in brain responses to risky rewards. The team will extend present studies using fMRI assessment of brain responses to study changes in decision-making behavior in children over time. In parallel, team members will also manipulate risky decision making in animals with different genetically determined brain chemistry.

4. Primate Genomics

This VIP team, directed by Greg Wray (Biology) and Christine Wall (Evolutionary Anthropology), will investigate changes in genome sequence and function associated with the evolution of human diet. Dietary adaptations unique to humans are quite diverse, including changes in tooth and jaw anatomy, taste and odorant receptors, digestive processes, the allocation of energy among tissues, and behavior. The faculty leaders are currently working to understand how these changes evolved, beginning by identifying the genes responsible, and then understanding how specific mutations in these genes alter molecular and cellular functions, thereby affecting organismal traits such as morphology, physiology, and behavior. This project will use methods from very different areas of the biological sciences, including genomics, bioinformatics, medicine, and evolutionary anthropology.

5. Molecular Biology and Evolution of Olfactory Circuits

Changes in the patterns of olfactory circuits can underlie adaptation to new habitats, mate selection, and drive speciation. This VIP team, directed by Pelin Volkan (Biology) and Uwe Ohler (IGSP) will focus on morphological differences in receptor expression and wiring patterns of olfactory receptor neurons in the nervous system of a number of Drosophila species at the cellular level. The team will explore how the identity of thousands of chemicals are perceived by odorant receptors, encoded in sensory neurons, and the mechanisms by which the genes that control this receptor machinery have evolved. They will survey patterns of nucleotide diversity within odorant receptor genes and in their regulatory sequences between Drosophila species to test various hypotheses, including the possible involvement of natural selection in driving their evolution.