Practice:Ns

Date & Time : 27, August 2024     

= Research Interests = Multifactorial Regulation of Ovarian Function in Teleosts Awareness that chemicals in the environment affect reproductive performance of feral fish populations through effects on endocrine homeostasis has led to the implementation of industrial process changes and waste treatment strategies designed to eliminate or reduce the release of harmful chemicals to the environment. As a result, there is a need to develop rapid methods of determining the effectiveness of technological changes as they pertain to reproductive endocrine endpoints. On going research focuses on the development of short term in vitro techniques through to whole animal test methods applicable in lab and field settings to evaluate the effects of chemicals on reproductive physiology of fish. The long term goal of this work is to establish whether chemicals which are identified on the basis of in vitro bioactivity are predictive of effects in vivo and to determine which endocrine responses are most sensitive in terms of whole animal and population levels effects.
 * Fish are used as the experimental model for studies investigating how the actions of hormones, growth factors of ovarian origin and intracellular signal transduction pathways interact to coordinate ovarian growth and differentiation. We are beginning to understand some aspects of the dynamics of follicular development and functional changes that occur as follicles differentiate, but fundamental questions about follicular development remain to be answered. Current research focuses on the hormonal control of growth, atresia and functional competence (in terms of hormone biosynthetic capacity and responsiveness) of goldfish and trout ovarian follicles during development. In addition to addressing the relevance of growth factors to ovarian physiology, localization of sites of synthesis within the ovary and regulation of their production are being studied.
 * Evaluation of Reproductive Fitness in Fish