People:
Dr. Wendy R. Hood
Associate Professor
Education:
B.A. Marine Biology, Univ of California, Santa Cruz
Ph.D. Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Boston University
Email: wrhood@auburn.edu
Office: 315 Rouse Life Science Bldg, 334-844-7437
Lab: 308 Funchess Hall, 334-844-1694
Mail: 101 Rouse Life Science Bldg, Auburn, AL 36849
Honors and Awards:
2015: NSF CAREER Grant
2016: Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award
About Wendy:
I became interested in understanding how and why condition and reproductive performance varies among individuals as an undergraduate observing the foraging and nursing patterns of Steller sea lions on a small island just off the coast of California. I saw first hand that maternal effort can play a formative role in how fast pups grow and whether or not they survive. Today, I continue to be fascinated by why life-history traits vary among individuals and how the environment and maternal effects contribute to these differences.
The questions that we address in my lab largely focus on the critical periods of growth, reproduction, and senescence. Differences in performance during these periods are intriguing because of their direct impacts on fitness. I maintain an active laboratory with a post-doc, grad students and undergraduates. You can learn more about the current research projects that we're working on in 'the Hood' under Research.
Current Post-doctoral Fellow and Graduate Students
Dr. Jeff (Kang Nian) Yap
Post-doctoral fellow; started in January 2019
Education:
Research interests:
I am an evolutionary and comparative physiologist interested in reproductive and exercise physiology. My research generally addresses the following questions: 1) what are the underlying physiological mechanisms that allow individuals to have higher reproductive and exercise performance? 2) what are the potential costs of exercise and reproduction? and 3) what are the mechanisms underlying costs of exercise and reproduction (i.e. physiological costs)? My current research in the Hood lab aims to understand how individual variation in endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial physiology is associated with whole-organism physiology, as well as life-history traits.
Chloe Josefson
Ph.D. student, started at Auburn in 2013
Education:
B.S. Biology, University of South Florida
B.A. Psychology, University of South Florida
Thesis project:
Chloe's is studying the cost of reproduction. Specifically, she mining the literature on lab mice to determine if there are physiological variables that contribute to variation in reproductive performance and longevity that have been missed in natural populations. She is evaluation how a female's allocation of resources to sons versus daughters changes with maternal age. And, she is evaluating the effect of reproduction on the ability of females to respond to an immune challenge. The latter 2 studies are being conducted in our wild-derived mice.
Kyle Heine
Ph.D. student, started at Auburn in 2017
Education:
B.S. Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans
M.S. Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans
Research interests:
My research interests lie at the crossroads of functional morphology and whole-organism performance. In particular, I’m interested in how mitochondrial behavior and morphology at the cellular level influence animal reproductive success and respiratory function. My current projects focus on how ultraviolet radiation and reproductive performance influence mitochondrial structure in copepod myocytes.
Ashley Williams
Ph.D. student, started at Auburn in 2017
Education:
xxs
Thesis project:
xxx
Shelby Zikeli
Ph.D. student, started at Auburn in 2018
Education:
B.S. Biological Sciences, minor Environmental Sciences, California University of Pennsylvania
M.S. Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University
Thesis project:
Currently, Shelby is working on understanding the links that may exist between animal behavior and underlying physiological processes like mitochondrial function, or ER stress. By studying animal personality, as well as individual variation in response and success she hopes to better illustrate these connections. Additionally, she is working to validate semi-natural enclosures as valuable tools for understanding variables in an ecological context.
Kaylene Yamada
Ph.D. student, started at Auburn in 2019
Education:
xx
Thesis project:
xxx
Tori Andreasen
M.S. student, started at Auburn in 2017
Education:
B.S.'s in Avian Biology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Georgia
Thesis project:
TBA
Current Undergraduates
Students working on ongoing projects (fall 2019)
Josh Anderson
Jacob Abraham
Kirkland Bradshaw
Kaytlyn Carter
Catherine Christian
Breanna Caldwell
Jake Dennis
Elizabeth Clark
Jerry Garcia
Kelly Dorsey
Rachel Heard
Jack Harmon
Sam Lubor
Jordan Marquez
Daniel Jung
Victoria Tucker
Taylor Parsons
Meg McCalley
Angelica Thompson
Julia Watson
Kelly Brooke Wilson
Hood lab technician
MaKalea Kirkland
BS in Marine Biology, Auburn University