Research in my lab investigates how organisms adjust their physiology and biochemistry to cope with a changing environment. Much of our work is focused on fish but we also study the unique biology of hibernating animals to understand how they suppress their metabolism during winter when food is scarce. Potential research projects in my lab include:

• Investigating changes in metabolism in response to hypoxia in Antarctic fish
• Studying the signaling pathway mediating changes in metabolism in response to temperature in threespine stickleback
• Characterizing changes in mitochondrial function during hibernation in black bears

Research in my lab aims to better understand how some vertebrates, namely some fish and freshwater turtles, can live without oxygen for days to weeks. Research is primarily focused on how cardiovascular function and its regulation is altered by oxygen deprivation and acclimation temperature. My lab also employs physiological techniques to assesses the impacts of toxicants on aquatic organisms. Research projects in my lab could incorporate the measurement of:

• cardiac activity in a live animal
• cardiac muscle contractile properties
• blood vessel vasoactivity
• action potentials and ionic currents from tissues and/or isolated cells
• gene and protein expression
• maximum and resting metabolic rate
• temperature tolerance and preference
• behavioral responses to a toxicant or altered environmental condition

Our lab investigates the tumor microenvironment, a dynamic network of cancer cells, blood vessels, immune cells, signaling molecules, and the extracellular matrix, to develop innovative cancer prevention and treatment strategies. Our research focuses on myeloid cells, an immune cell that can promote cancer growth and spread. By employing techniques in immunology, molecular biology, nanomaterials, and murine cancer models, we explore novel therapeutic approaches to modify the tumor microenvironment.

• Reprogramming Immunosuppressive Myeloid Cells
• Characterizing Tumor-Associated Immune Cell Interactions
• Sex Differences in Immune Response to Cancer and Treatment