This past week, I started my second rotation in the lab of Dr. Greg Demas. For my rotation project, I will be examining the effect of melatonin on the development of aggression in male Siberian hamsters, Phodopus sungorus. Greg and one of his previous Ph.D. students, Nikki Rendon, recently published several papers exploring the neuroendocrine mechanisms of female Siberian hamster aggression during the non-breeding season. I hope to expand on this work using similar physiological, molecular, and endocrine techniques to investigate non-breeding season aggression in male Siberian hamsters. I am looking forward to starting my study later this week!

Featured image: a Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus). Credit: Drs. Foster and Smith.