NATASHA CROSBY
Biology
Fall 2008
Natasha Crosby will graduate in January 2009 with her doctorate in molecular biology and genetics and a minor in biochemistry. A member of Professor David Daleke’s lab, her work focuses on the effect of diabetes (hyperglycemia) on red blood cell membranes, specifically looking into ways to reverse the effects of hyperglycemia by using antioxidant treatments. It is hoped that this research will contribute to therapies for diabetes.
As an undergraduate, Natasha majored in biology at Hampton University in Virginia (a long way from her home in Oakland, California). Participation in the university’s HBCU-UP program, a NSF-funded initiative to increase minority participation in the STEM disciplines, boosted her interest in scientific research. Additionally, Natasha studied abroad in Finland, where she worked in a lab studying brain diseases including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. This experience was sponsored by the NIH MIRT (Minority International Research Training) program, which funds international research opportunities in medical science for underrepresented students. (MIRT is now MHIRT – the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training grant program.)
After graduating, Natasha will continue in research in her professional life, but also hopes to “give back” to the effort to broaden participation in science. She looks forward to the opportunity to advise and otherwise support minority students. Her advice to prospective doctoral students now is to “do your research” before choosing an institution and committing several years of your life to the degree. She cautions that “science doesn’t always work,” meaning that, in many cases, researchers don’t obtain the answers they wanted – and they have to spend the time and energy to figure out why.
MAYTÉ RUIZ
Biology and Animal Behavior
Fall 2007
Mayté Ruiz is a third-year graduate student at Indiana University-Bloomington. She is majoring in biology under the advisement of Dr. Emília P. Martins. Mayté received a Bachelor of Science in biology at Florida International University. She is working in the program for Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) as well as the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB). Additionally, she is a trainee of the NIH-funded Common Themes in Reproductive Diversity (CTRD) group at Indiana University.
Currently, she is researching trade-offs within and among courtship and immune function in sagebrush lizards, Sceloporus graciosus. From previous research she has found that individual male identity and female reproductive state are important predictors of variation in male display rate. However, males do not alter their display rate with respect to female quality.
In her upcoming research, she will consider the effects of hormones, namely testosterone and corticosterone, on the immune system of S. graciosus. Previous studies have determined that these hormones play a major immunosuppressive role; however, inconsistencies arise due to the utilization of a number of immune measures and due to the possibility of an interactive effect of hormones within an individual. She proposes to address these inconsistencies by determining the effect of testosterone and of corticosterone on multiple immune responses simultaneously.
She will also test the interactive effect that testosterone and corticosterone have on the immune system. Additionally, she will determine whether corticosterone produces similar immune responses in males and females since males and females have different hormonal physiology and thus interactions with corticosterone may lead to diverse effects between the sexes. Finally, she hopes to connect immunity and reproduction by analyzing how trade-offs between these processes are mediated.
Mayté volunteers her time as a “Big Sister” with Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana. She encourages and challenges her “Little Sister,” providing her with a friendship, support, and an example to which she can aspire.
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