The research program will conclude with a student research symposium in late July at the Law School of Pepperdine University in Malibu. The expression of most genes is regulated spatially and temporally within organisms. Elucidation of the control mechanisms responsible for regulated gene expression is a major focus of molecular research. Hemoglobin is found in a wide variety of organisms and may be expressed differentially in response to developmental and environmental cues. We study the structure and function of hemoglobins and examine the mechanisms involved in the regulation of globin gene expression.
Predators have both direct and indirect effects on prey.
We have found that some prey respond primarily to predators via visual stimuli while other prey species respond to primarily chemical stimuli. Pepperdine's Malibu campus is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, providing easy access to a natural laboratory of native plant communities. Most research projects will focus on the physiological adaptation of chaparral and coastal sage to wildfire and drought. Animals that live in the marine intertidal zone are periodically exposed to air or sequestered in tidepools during a low tide. Challenges for survival include desiccation, changes in physical parameters such as temperature, salinity, and pH, and absence of a liquid respiratory medium.