Shivani Sundaram
Genetic Basis of Tooth Development in the Stickleback
In my project, I will attempt to determine whether an isolated population of threespine stickleback fish from Scout Lake has undergone natural selection within a period of six years. I will do this by counting tooth number and determining if there has been a change in average tooth number across multiple generations. In addition, I will be investigating the different chromosomal loci and alleles that contribute to and determine total tooth number in several stickleback clutches. To do this, I will be genotyping their genomic DNA at these loci and performing in-situ hybridization to determine the patterns of genetic expression that regulate tooth number.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you very much for this summer stipend. Being able to work in the Miller Lab over the summer will give me the ability to work on this project and will allow me to continue exploring my love of molecular and developmental biology. I am grateful to expand my knowledge about research and learn from people I truly admire and respect, so I know the work I do this summer will be an amazing experience.
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Mentor: Craig Miller