On July 15, I had the pleasure of presenting my research at the 2018 International Congress of Neuroendocrinology in Toronto, Canada! Here, I discussed findings from the first study of my graduate career at IU, in which I investigated the effects of photoperiod and melatonin administration on circulating and neural androgen levels in male Siberian …
This summer, I am co-mentoring two undergraduate students with my labmate Beth through the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program: Desirée Nieves and Ayley Shortridge! Desirée is a senior at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez majoring in Animal Science, and Ayley is a rising junior at …
Continue reading Kat Mentors Undergraduate Students for CISAB REU Program
This June, I taught a two-week summer zoology course through Indiana University's Foundations in Science and Mathematics (FSM) program for the second year in a row! The FSM program is organized and run entirely by current IU graduate students and offers summer classes to help local high school students prepare for upcoming science and mathematics …
Continue reading 2018 Foundations in Science and Mathematics Program
This past spring, I started writing for ScIU, a graduate student-run blog that discusses current events and cutting-edge science taking place at Indiana University. My first post, which discusses my labmate Kristyn's recent findings on the sex-specific effects of gut dysbiosis on the gut microbiome and behavior, was recently published on the blog! Click here …
On April 13, I had the pleasure of presenting a poster at the 2018 Animal Behavior Conference! My poster featured some of the findings of my current study, in which I examined the effects of photoperiod and melatonin administration on circulating and neural androgen levels in male Siberian hamsters. This project was part of a …
A mini-review that I wrote with my advisor Greg and former Demas lab graduate student Nikki Rendon has been accepted for publication in Frontiers in Endocrinology! This paper discusses evidence for a novel neuroendocrine pathway for territorial aggression in seasonally breeding animals, in which adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) serves as an important precursor for neural androgen synthesis …
Continue reading Mini-Review Published in Frontiers in Endocrinology
This week, I was notified that I will be receiving a Common Themes in Reproductive Diversity (CTRD) NIH Predoctoral Fellowship for the 2018-2019 academic year! This prestigious fellowship is awarded annually by the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) at Indiana University to outstanding graduate students whose research focuses on behavior and …
