Professor

Biology

Colorado State University - Fort Collins (Fort Collins, CO)

Associate Dean for Graduate Education

College of Natural Sciences

Colorado State University - Fort Collins (Fort Collins, CO)

Hormonal regulation of molting and limb regeneration in crustaceans.

There are currently two areas of investigation: 1. Hormonal control of molting. Crustaceans, like all arthropods, have a rigid exoskeleton that must be shed, a process called molting or ecdysis, in order to make room for tissue growth. Molting is determined by the interplay between two endocrine organs, the eyestalk X organ/sinus gland complex and the molting glands, or Y-organs (YOs). We study the signal transduction pathways involved in the suppression of the YO by eyestalk neuropeptides in the blackback land crab, Gecarcinus lateralis, and the green crab, Carcinus maenas. 2. Molt-induced muscle atrophy. During premolt, the claw muscle undergoes a large reduction in size (as much as 78%), which makes it easier for the animal to withdraw the claws when the animal molts. We study the roles of ecdysteroids and myostatin in controlling skeletal muscle mass in crabs and American lobster, Homarus americanus.

1998 Distinguished Research Fellow, University of California Davis

1991 Fulbright Scholar, Univ of Heidelberg

1989 NSF Presidential Young Investigator