NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Linking maternal investment and the neonate: Variation in maternal demand during lactation on offspring immune system development

Josefson, Chloe C, Auburn AL

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The goal of this project is to address novel questions using integrative approaches and to use scientific research as a tool to empower underrepresented groups. Lactation (milk production by mammals) is the most energetically-demanding phase of the mammalian life cycle, yet is the least studied aspect of mammalian reproduction. The composition of milk is affected by maternal activity, behavior, and maternal physiology, and can carry long-lasting impacts on offspring. This project aims to understand how lactation is affected by maternal illness by looking at offspring development and immune defense via changes in milk compounds and/or maternal behavior. Through investigating these relationships, this study will advance the understanding of the non-genetic ways that mothers can influence their offspring, with implications on the fields of ecological physiology, dairy and animal science, and biomedicine. The fellow's outreach program aims to promote and support the participation of Native American students in the sciences, as these populations are underrepresented within both higher education and STEM disciplines. The initiative combines mentorship for undergraduates in a research environment with a sustainable community-based program. Insights gleaned from this project will be disseminated at professional meetings on biology education research, so that they can be used by the scientific community to further promote and enhance diversity, inclusivity, and retention of underrepresented groups within the sciences. Given the formative role that milk plays in neonatal immune development, this project uses a life history theory framework to systematically investigate the role of conflicting maternal demands (i.e., lactation and immune defense) in determining offspring phenotype and development. To conduct this work, experiments will be conducted using immune-challenged female mice from both laboratory and wild-derived populations. The fellow will observe maternal licking and grooming behavior and will employ whole-animal respirometry to determine maternal demand. Variation in milk composition and bioactive compounds, including secretory immunoglobulin A, which is responsible for passive antibody transfer, will also be measured. Maternal and offspring physiology and immunocompetence will be determined using multiple techniques, including functional assays (i.e., immune response to a challenge), morphological measurements of litter and offspring characteristics, and expression of genes and proteins associated with immune defense and development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.