The focus of my research is to understand how information from the environment is incorporated into the germline to become heritable and cause dysfunction in subsequent generations.

 

Throughout my career, I have addressed this question by studying the ways that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during prenatal development affects molecular biology, physiology, and behavior. My early work focused on the characterization of the heritable manifestations of EDC exposure in both males and females, while considering relevant life challenges like chronic stress. This work significantly contributed to the understanding of the phenotypes caused by EDC exposure and has determined which phenotypes are heritable.

 

I have recently turned my focus to the mechanisms that allow for EDCs to cause heritable disease and I have characterized the changes to DNA methylation in sperm (epimutations) caused by low and environmentally relevant doses of EDCs. Some of these epimutations persist beyond the germline into the brain, lasting for multiple generations, which may be the basis for behavioral dysfunction.

 

Currently, my research is challenging the traditional concepts of heritability with the hypothesis that EDC exposure interferes with a conserved mechanism of inheritance that exists to pass relevant information from the environment to future generations. My broad expertise in molecular and reproductive biology, animal behavior, endocrinology, toxicology, and advanced bioinformatics has allowed me to ask and answer innovative questions that are critical to the advancement of the field.