Amphibians play an important role as animal models for the study of thyroid hormone. Currently, the interaction of thyroid hormone with other endocrine pathways, in particular the steroidogenic pathway, is unknown. My project is looking at optimizing a protocol that can be used to determine the effect of thyroid hormone on sex hormone production and gene expression in the amphibian gonad. This study will aid in the development of the first amphibian model system that will allow us to study how changes in thyroid status and exposure to thyroid disrupting contaminants could influence reproduction.

 The goal of my project is to further optimize a protocol that can be used to test whether thyroid hormone can affect the production of sex hormones by the amphibian gonad. Additionally, an analysis of gene expression to determine mechanism of action by thyroid hormone will be determined. 

 There are many contaminants present in our environment that disrupt the proper functioning of the endocrine system. Amphibian populations are at risk due to their dependence on an aquatic environment where many environmental contaminants are found. It is pertinent to understand how the endocrine pathways interact in order to fully understand the implications of exposure to environmental contaminants.

 The most exciting thing I have done this summer was learning new molecular techniques.