Congratulations to our Spring 2022 graduates: Kat and Kate! Kat will be starting a new position as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Houston in Summer 2022, and Kate will be starting medical school at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Fall 2022. All of us in the Demas lab are so proud of your accomplishments, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

This afternoon, Matt presented his research on the role of melatonin in regulating seasonal variation in the gut microbiome and social behavior in female hamsters at the IU Biotechnology Graduate Program Poster Session. Way to go, Matt!

Kat, Amanda, Matt, and Greg’s review on the role of melatonin in regulating seasonal aggression was published in the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A! This review discusses the physiological and cellular mechanisms underlying seasonal plasticity in aggressive and non-aggressive social behaviors in vertebrates, including a key role for melatonin in facilitating a “seasonal switch” in the neuroendocrine regulation of aggression, and draws parallels between the seasonal regulation of agonistic and affective behaviors in animal models and humans.

A link for the manuscript can be found under the “Publications” page and can also be accessed here.

Last Friday, Kat presented her Ph.D. defense seminar entitled “Melatonin as a Neuroendocrine Regulator of Seasonal Aggression in Siberian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)” and successfully defended her dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Munley!

Kate received the 2022 Executive Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity! Kate was given this award, which is one of the highest undergraduate honors given by the College of Arts and Sciences at IU, for her research investigating the repeatability of social and escape behaviors across developmental stages in Siberian hamsters. Congratulations, Kate!

Kat received the Hanna Kolodziejski Fellowship at ABC 2022! This fellowship is awarded annually to a CISAB and EEB graduate student at Indiana University who shows academic talent in research and teaching and demonstrates a commitment to the community through service or outreach programs. Congratulations, Kat!

This past weekend, Kat, Luke, Sydney, and Beth presented their research at the 2022 Animal Behavior Conference, an annual meeting hosted by Indiana University’s Center for the Integrative Study for Animal Behavior (CISAB). Way to go, everyone!

Former Demas lab postdoc Jess Cusick’s manuscript on the role of maternal stress and the maternal microbiome on offspring development and aggression was recently published in Hormones and Behavior! In this study, Jess showed that female offspring produced by stressed mothers were more aggressive than other female offspring. In addition, female, but not male offspring produced by stressed mothers treated with antibiotics displayed lower levels of aggression, despite both male and female offspring exhibiting changes in gut microbial communities in response to maternal antibiotic exposure. Collectively, her findings suggest that alteration of the maternal gut microbiome attenuates the affects of prenatal stress on behavior in a sex-specific manner.

A link for the manuscript can be found under the “Publications” page and can also be accessed here.

Kat received an Honorable Mention for the Division of Comparative Endocrinology’s Aubrey Gorbman Award for Best Student Oral Presentation at SICB 2022, the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology’s annual meeting! In her presentation, Kat discussed her recent findings on how melatonin regulates seasonal and sex-specific changes in steroidogenic enzyme activity and aggression in Siberian hamsters. Congratulations, Kat!

Yesterday, members of the Demas lab gathered at Greg’s house for our annual holiday party, featuring delicious food and a white elephant gift exchange! From all of us at the Demas Lab, we wish you a wonderful holiday season!