Research Initiative Award: The Dark Side of Light: Gestational and Generational Impact of Light Pollution on Brain Development and Fecundity

研究计划奖：光的阴暗面：光污染对大脑发育和生育力的妊娠和世代影响

• 批准号: 2300365
• 负责人: Carmel Martin-Fairey
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-15 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2300365&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Initiative; Award; Dark; Side

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness and improve research and teaching at the home institution. This award to Harris-Stowe State University supports faculty and undergraduate research experiences in their efforts to determine the impact of light exposure on chrono-disruption during pregnancy in off-spring. Given that light provides much of the information that enables organisms to adapt to their environment, it is important that efforts are made to understand the adverse and deleterious effects of light pollution in mammalian fetal programming, serving as a foundational study to preserving biodiversity. The overall goal of this project is to elucidate the epigenetic and hormonal mechanisms during pregnancy and the relationship with offspring brain development and fecundity. It is hypothesized that mistimed gestational light is a modifiable factor that desynchronizes maternal-fetal epigenetic and hormonal signaling across both nocturnal and diurnal mammals, which predisposes adult offspring to poor cognitive and reproductive health. Thus, utilizing diurnal grass rat and nocturnal rodent models, transcriptional analyses will be conducted to identify hippocampal, behavioral, and reproductive neurodevelopment in utero. The project also aims to identify the molecular basis to reset epigenetic and hormonal impairments by restoring melatonin and corticosterone rhythm during gestation. It is anticipated that the proposed studies will generate new knowledge regarding the underpinnings of neurological and reproductive system development as affected by light during gestation. The engagement of undergraduate students in this project, coupled with efforts to organize student-involved and community organization workshops aimed at raising awareness of the impact of light pollution, are likely to enhance the institutional prominence of Harris-Stowe State University.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.

历史悠久的黑人学院本科课程（HBCU-UP）通过研究启动奖为历史悠久的黑人学院和大学的初级和中级教师提供了支持，他们正在构建新的研究计划，或重建和重建现有研究计划。预计该奖项有助于促进教师的研究能力和有效性，并改善家庭机构的研究和教学。授予哈里斯·斯托州立大学的奖项支持教师和本科研究经验，以确定光暴露对临时怀孕期间的持续影响。 鉴于光提供了使生物能够适应其环境的许多信息，因此必须努力理解光污染对哺乳动物胎儿程序的不利和有害影响，这是维护生物多样性的基础研究。该项目的总体目标是阐明怀孕期间的表观遗传和激素机制以及与后代大脑发育和繁殖力的关系。假设妊娠光是一个可修改的因素，它使夜间和昼夜哺乳动物跨越母亲 - 狂热的表观遗传和荷尔蒙信号传导，使成人后代易于认知和生殖健康。因此，利用昼夜草大鼠和夜间啮齿动物模型，将进行转录分析以鉴定子宫内的海马，行为和生殖神经发育。该项目还旨在通过恢复妊娠期间褪黑激素和皮质酮的节奏来确定分子基础以复位表观遗传和激素损伤。预计拟议的研究将产生有关神经和生殖系统发育的基础的新知识，并受到妊娠光的影响。本科生参与该项目，再加上旨在提高对光污染影响的认识的学生参与学生和社区组织研讨会的努力，可能会增强哈里斯·斯托夫州立大学的机构突出性。该奖项的奖项反映了NSF的法规和经过评估的范围，这一奖项已被认为是构成构成的范围。