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Faculty Profile:
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Sandra L. Petersen
Professor
Biology |
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Contact Information: |
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Neural Mechanisms Regulating Ovulation in Mammals; Molecular Mechanisms by which Environmental Contaminants Disrupt the Neural Control of Ovulation; Perinatal Effects of Estrogen and Dioxins on Sexual Differentiation of the Brain |
| There are three main projects in Prof. Petersen's lab. The first project is Neural Mechanisms Regulating Ovulation in Mammals. Ovulation is a cyclic event that requires tightly regulated communication between the ovary and brain. Her research focuses on the intracellular and trans-synaptic signaling mechanisms by which estrogen regulates LHRH gene expression, biosynthesis, and release. The second project is Perinatal Effects of Estrogen and Dioxins on Sexual Differentiation of the Brain. Exposure to estrogen during development permanently alters the neural tissue that controls ovulation and other sexually dimorphic brain functions. Her group is currently examining mechanisms underlying estrogen-dependent sexual differentiation of the brain and determining how dioxin activation of the arylhydrocarbon receptor (AhR) interferes with these differentiation processes. For this project, the Petersen laboratory is using both expression and ChIP-chip microarray technology and bioinformatics approaches. This will enable them to determine sites where both AhR and ER bind throughout the genome and to identify signaling pathways through which TCDD interferes with actions of E2. |
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