Dr. Wendy Hood | Hood Lab

Bio:
Dr. Wendy Hood is an evolutionary physiologist, professor and curator of mammals at Auburn University. She has published extensively on nutritional constraints on lactation and reproductive performance as well as on the evolution of milk composition. 

The current focus areas of her lab group are:

1.  Understanding how mitochondria and their bioenergetic capacity impact intraspecific variation in life history and performance.
2.  Developing research models that recapitulate phenotypes expressed in wild populations. 

She has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and is a recipient of the prestigious NSF CAREER award. Her research group has studied species across diverse taxa, currently including mice (laboratory and wild-derived Mus), lab rats, Tigriopus copepods, migratory and non-migratory birds and butterflies.

Abstract:
Twice a year, migratory birds fly thousands of kilometers on a fuel budget that pushes vertebrate physiology to its limits. Mitochondria, the cellular engines behind that effort, are surprisingly understudied in this context. Using white-crowned sparrows, including a long-distance migratory subspecies (Gambel's) and a non-migratory subspecies (Nuttall's), we examined two complementary axes of mitochondrial performance: respiratory function and remodeling. 

Sampling across matched non-migratory, pre-migratory and active migratory periods, we found that Gambel's consistently exceeded Nuttall's in mitochondrial volume (citrate synthase) and respiratory capacity (OXPHOS and basal respiration), particularly before and during migration, along with elevated remodeling markers (e.g., NRF1, OPA1, Drp1) that were specific to the flight muscle (pectoralis). 

Nuttall's values most closely resembled Gambel's non-migratory baseline, suggesting migratory capacity reflects an induced, season-specific state rather than a fixed subspecies trait. Together, these findings reveal seasonal mitochondrial respiratory and structural remodeling as an integrated strategy supporting migration's energetic demands, offering a mechanistic view of how animals dynamically reconfigure cellular energy systems under fluctuating performance demands.

Dr. Wendy Hood | Hood Lab

Bio:
Dr. Wendy Hood is an evolutionary physiologist, professor and curator of mammals at Auburn University. She has published extensively on nutritional constraints on lactation and reproductive performance as well as on the evolution of milk composition. 

The current focus areas of her lab group are:

1.  Understanding how mitochondria and their bioenergetic capacity impact intraspecific variation in life history and performance.
2.  Developing research models that recapitulate phenotypes expressed in wild populations. 

She has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and is a recipient of the prestigious NSF CAREER award. Her research group has studied species across diverse taxa, currently including mice (laboratory and wild-derived Mus), lab rats, Tigriopus copepods, migratory and non-migratory birds and butterflies.

Abstract:
Twice a year, migratory birds fly thousands of kilometers on a fuel budget that pushes vertebrate physiology to its limits. Mitochondria, the cellular engines behind that effort, are surprisingly understudied in this context. Using white-crowned sparrows, including a long-distance migratory subspecies (Gambel's) and a non-migratory subspecies (Nuttall's), we examined two complementary axes of mitochondrial performance: respiratory function and remodeling. 

Sampling across matched non-migratory, pre-migratory and active migratory periods, we found that Gambel's consistently exceeded Nuttall's in mitochondrial volume (citrate synthase) and respiratory capacity (OXPHOS and basal respiration), particularly before and during migration, along with elevated remodeling markers (e.g., NRF1, OPA1, Drp1) that were specific to the flight muscle (pectoralis). 

Nuttall's values most closely resembled Gambel's non-migratory baseline, suggesting migratory capacity reflects an induced, season-specific state rather than a fixed subspecies trait. Together, these findings reveal seasonal mitochondrial respiratory and structural remodeling as an integrated strategy supporting migration's energetic demands, offering a mechanistic view of how animals dynamically reconfigure cellular energy systems under fluctuating performance demands.

Dr. Wendy Hood | Hood Lab

Bio:
Dr. Wendy Hood is an evolutionary physiologist, professor and curator of mammals at Auburn University. She has published extensively on nutritional constraints on lactation and reproductive performance as well as on the evolution of milk composition. 

The current focus areas of her lab group are:

1.  Understanding how mitochondria and their bioenergetic capacity impact intraspecific variation in life history and performance.
2.  Developing research models that recapitulate phenotypes expressed in wild populations. 

She has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and is a recipient of the prestigious NSF CAREER award. Her research group has studied species across diverse taxa, currently including mice (laboratory and wild-derived Mus), lab rats, Tigriopus copepods, migratory and non-migratory birds and butterflies.

Abstract:
Twice a year, migratory birds fly thousands of kilometers on a fuel budget that pushes vertebrate physiology to its limits. Mitochondria, the cellular engines behind that effort, are surprisingly understudied in this context. Using white-crowned sparrows, including a long-distance migratory subspecies (Gambel's) and a non-migratory subspecies (Nuttall's), we examined two complementary axes of mitochondrial performance: respiratory function and remodeling. 

Sampling across matched non-migratory, pre-migratory and active migratory periods, we found that Gambel's consistently exceeded Nuttall's in mitochondrial volume (citrate synthase) and respiratory capacity (OXPHOS and basal respiration), particularly before and during migration, along with elevated remodeling markers (e.g., NRF1, OPA1, Drp1) that were specific to the flight muscle (pectoralis). 

Nuttall's values most closely resembled Gambel's non-migratory baseline, suggesting migratory capacity reflects an induced, season-specific state rather than a fixed subspecies trait. Together, these findings reveal seasonal mitochondrial respiratory and structural remodeling as an integrated strategy supporting migration's energetic demands, offering a mechanistic view of how animals dynamically reconfigure cellular energy systems under fluctuating performance demands.

Dr. Wendy Hood | Hood Lab

Bio:
Dr. Wendy Hood is an evolutionary physiologist, professor and curator of mammals at Auburn University. She has published extensively on nutritional constraints on lactation and reproductive performance as well as on the evolution of milk composition. 

The current focus areas of her lab group are:

1.  Understanding how mitochondria and their bioenergetic capacity impact intraspecific variation in life history and performance.
2.  Developing research models that recapitulate phenotypes expressed in wild populations. 

She has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and is a recipient of the prestigious NSF CAREER award. Her research group has studied species across diverse taxa, currently including mice (laboratory and wild-derived Mus), lab rats, Tigriopus copepods, migratory and non-migratory birds and butterflies.

Abstract:
Twice a year, migratory birds fly thousands of kilometers on a fuel budget that pushes vertebrate physiology to its limits. Mitochondria, the cellular engines behind that effort, are surprisingly understudied in this context. Using white-crowned sparrows, including a long-distance migratory subspecies (Gambel's) and a non-migratory subspecies (Nuttall's), we examined two complementary axes of mitochondrial performance: respiratory function and remodeling. 

Sampling across matched non-migratory, pre-migratory and active migratory periods, we found that Gambel's consistently exceeded Nuttall's in mitochondrial volume (citrate synthase) and respiratory capacity (OXPHOS and basal respiration), particularly before and during migration, along with elevated remodeling markers (e.g., NRF1, OPA1, Drp1) that were specific to the flight muscle (pectoralis). 

Nuttall's values most closely resembled Gambel's non-migratory baseline, suggesting migratory capacity reflects an induced, season-specific state rather than a fixed subspecies trait. Together, these findings reveal seasonal mitochondrial respiratory and structural remodeling as an integrated strategy supporting migration's energetic demands, offering a mechanistic view of how animals dynamically reconfigure cellular energy systems under fluctuating performance demands.

Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia | de la Iglesia Lab

Bio:
Horacio de la Iglesia finished his undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where working with Eric Bittman he studied the neuroanatomical interactions between the master circadian clock of mammals and the brain centers that control reproduction. He then continued his research on the neural control of circadian rhythms as a post-doctoral fellow and as an instructor in the laboratory of William Schwartz at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was also an Instructor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Stem Cells. De la Iglesia joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.

Abstract:
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that moonlight not only had a similar effect on activity in ancestral times, but also that the phases of the moon continue to shape our daily sleep in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and nonhuman primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep by lunar gravity, and for the mechanisms by which the moon may regulate sleep physiology.

Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia | de la Iglesia Lab

Bio:
Horacio de la Iglesia finished his undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where working with Eric Bittman he studied the neuroanatomical interactions between the master circadian clock of mammals and the brain centers that control reproduction. He then continued his research on the neural control of circadian rhythms as a post-doctoral fellow and as an instructor in the laboratory of William Schwartz at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was also an Instructor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Stem Cells. De la Iglesia joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.

Abstract:
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that moonlight not only had a similar effect on activity in ancestral times, but also that the phases of the moon continue to shape our daily sleep in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and nonhuman primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep by lunar gravity, and for the mechanisms by which the moon may regulate sleep physiology.

Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia | de la Iglesia Lab

Bio:
Horacio de la Iglesia finished his undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where working with Eric Bittman he studied the neuroanatomical interactions between the master circadian clock of mammals and the brain centers that control reproduction. He then continued his research on the neural control of circadian rhythms as a post-doctoral fellow and as an instructor in the laboratory of William Schwartz at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was also an Instructor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Stem Cells. De la Iglesia joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.

Abstract:
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that moonlight not only had a similar effect on activity in ancestral times, but also that the phases of the moon continue to shape our daily sleep in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and nonhuman primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep by lunar gravity, and for the mechanisms by which the moon may regulate sleep physiology.

Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia | de la Iglesia Lab

Bio:
Horacio de la Iglesia finished his undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where working with Eric Bittman he studied the neuroanatomical interactions between the master circadian clock of mammals and the brain centers that control reproduction. He then continued his research on the neural control of circadian rhythms as a post-doctoral fellow and as an instructor in the laboratory of William Schwartz at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was also an Instructor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Stem Cells. De la Iglesia joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.

Abstract:
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that moonlight not only had a similar effect on activity in ancestral times, but also that the phases of the moon continue to shape our daily sleep in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and nonhuman primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep by lunar gravity, and for the mechanisms by which the moon may regulate sleep physiology.

Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia | de la Iglesia Lab

Bio:
Horacio de la Iglesia finished his undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where working with Eric Bittman he studied the neuroanatomical interactions between the master circadian clock of mammals and the brain centers that control reproduction. He then continued his research on the neural control of circadian rhythms as a post-doctoral fellow and as an instructor in the laboratory of William Schwartz at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was also an Instructor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Stem Cells. De la Iglesia joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.

Abstract:
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that moonlight not only had a similar effect on activity in ancestral times, but also that the phases of the moon continue to shape our daily sleep in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and nonhuman primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep by lunar gravity, and for the mechanisms by which the moon may regulate sleep physiology.

Dr. Horacio de la Iglesia | de la Iglesia Lab

Bio:
Horacio de la Iglesia finished his undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where working with Eric Bittman he studied the neuroanatomical interactions between the master circadian clock of mammals and the brain centers that control reproduction. He then continued his research on the neural control of circadian rhythms as a post-doctoral fellow and as an instructor in the laboratory of William Schwartz at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was also an Instructor at Harvard University, where he taught a course on Stem Cells. De la Iglesia joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.

Abstract:
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that moonlight not only had a similar effect on activity in ancestral times, but also that the phases of the moon continue to shape our daily sleep in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and nonhuman primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep by lunar gravity, and for the mechanisms by which the moon may regulate sleep physiology.