Rachel N. Levin, Ph.D. - US grants

This is an N.S.F. Young Investigator Award. Dr. Levin plans to examine the role played by hormones in the development of sex differences in bird song in a tropical species in which both sexes sing. She also proposes to investigate the possibility that environmental factors such as latitude may affect the degree to which hormones control adult song.

9300330 Bierzychudek This award provides funds to the Department of Biology at Pomona College to establish a Research Experiences for Undergraduate Site. The program will provide full-time summer stipends for eight students, and part of semester- long academic year stipends for 10 more to work jointly with faculty advisors on a variety of projects in the biological sciences, including molecular biology, population and behavioral biology, physiology and cell biology. Support activities will ensure that students have ample opportunity to develop independence, to discuss their work with one another, and to draw together their results for presentation to others. In addition, activities are provided to encourage younger students to consider engaging in a research experience. Significant numbers of women, underrepresented minorities, and students from schools where research opportunities are limited will be involved in the program. ***

9222763 Levin The purpose of this project is to investigate the origin of sex differences in social behavior by examining bird song. Bird studies have focused on species in which only males sing, have identified specific areas in male brains that control song behavior, and have shown that these areas are turned on and off by testosterone. Non-singing females of these species don't have these well-developed brain regions and lack significant levels of testosterone in their blood. Dr. Levin will expand this understanding of the origin of sex differences in behavior by looking at a tropical species in which both sexes sing, in which sex differences are maintained in songs. She plans to raise young birds hearing only one male song, only female song, the song of both sexes, or no song. Examining what these birds learn to sing and how their hormone levels change during song learning will help reveal the roles played by hormones and social role models in the development of sex differences in song. She will test any suggested role of hormones in song development by examining song development in surgically castrated birds. While the issue of the origin of sex differences in behavior, particularly in humans, is a topic of much interest, it is difficult to address in a rigorous, systematic fashion. Studies of bird species offer a unique opportunity to do so because the avian nervous system is so amenable to study and because of the vast array of species differences in the relative roles played by males and females, population differences in sex-species behaviors within one species, and individual differences within a population that can be found among birds. Avian systems have been successfully used to generate and test proposed models in other areas of interest, such as the inter-relationships of hormones, aggression, and social environment, and the results of these studies have proven to be remarkably parallel to those from studies of primates and other ve rtebrates. Thus, it seems likely that simply by prudently choosing appropriate species, we can exploit avian systems to reveal the mechanisms that might be associated with the process of sexual differentiation in the behavior of vertebrates.

The Pomona College Department of Biology has a long-standing commitment to teaching students how to investigate and solve scientific problems and a strong tradition of involving undergraduates in biological research in meaningful ways. In the REU Sites program at Pomona College students will work jointly with Ph.D.-holding faculty advisors on projects in a variety of fields, including molecular biology, population and behavioral biology, physiology and cell biology. Students will also participate in a number of support activities that will provide them with the opportunity to discuss their projects with other student researchers and with younger students who are considering doing research. The student-faculty research community will hold regular informal research meetings and open houses. All students will present the results of their work at a science poster conference. This award will foster the continued education and training of individuals who will be part of the next generation of basic researchers in the biological sciences.

ABSTRACT Frances Hanzawa DBI # 9988047



The Biology Department at Pomona College is committed to teaching students by engaging them in active research. This commitment is reflected in the fact that each faculty members maintains a research program that invites and encourages student participation. The current REU program has greatly enhanced student-faculty interactions in the research community. The proposed program includes both part-time positions during the academic year and full-time summer positions in order to meet the needs of a variety of students. The program is particularly oriented towards recruiting and retaining women and students from minorities traditionally underrepresented in science. The program also strives to provide research experience to those who might not have such opportunities at their home institutions. In the current program, it has been found that the increasing success in reaching these goals is due primarily to relationships established with a local community college that educates many students from underrepresented minority groups. The impact of the program on the career trajectories of these students is exceptional--nearly all are now pursuing further education and research positions in the sciences. The program will be strengthen our by establishing a relationship with a second local community college. Funding provided by NSF will be partially matched by Pomona College to accommodate 20 part-time academic year and 8 full-time summer positions annually. Each student in the program will collaborate with a faculty advisor on a project in one of a variety of fields including genetics, molecular biology, developmental biology, population biology, ecology, animal behavior, endocrinology, neurobiology and physiology. Students will participate in regular meetings within their research group as well as a number of activities that will both enrich the research community and involve others who are not yet involved in research. These activities will include a series of informal research lunches, student-hosted lab open houses, and a formal poster presentation.