Kathleen M. Munley

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…

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…

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…

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…

I am excited to announce that after seven weeks of hard work and dedication, I passed part I of my Qualifying Exam, the first major milestone of my Ph.D. program! While the past two months have certainly been stressful, they have also been extremely rewarding and fulfilling. I look forward to applying the knowledge I’ve…

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker for the Fall 2017 Research STEM Boot Camp at Indiana University. This program is sponsored by the Groups Scholars Program and the Hudson & Holland Scholars Program and is designed to aid current undergraduate students in publishing and presenting their research at conferences….

In collaboration with Kiran Soma and Cecilia Jalabert at the University of British Columbia, Greg and I wrote a book chapter on aggressive behavior for the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Reproduction. This book chapter is my first publication as a Ph.D. student in Greg’s lab! A link for the chapter can be found under…

This July, I instructed a two-week summer Zoology course through Indiana University’s Foundations in Science and Mathematics (FSM) program. This program is designed to prepare local middle and high school students for upcoming courses in math and the sciences. I had a great time interacting with my students and teaching them about animals! For more…