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CNI Accessible Lecture – Plasticity: How Experience Shapes Traits and Generations
Neuroscientists from all over the United States who care about community and democratizing neuroscience deliver accessible lectures on their cutting-edge work. These neuroscientists are generally from underrepresented groups and have their own track record of bringing neuroscience to the people.
Dr. Sebastian Alvarado’s research program at Queens College is motivated by understanding the molecular boundaries of biological plasticity. While genetics provides a reasonable molecular framework for certain evolutionary processes, it does not provide the entire picture. Reversible molecular processes, such as DNA methylation/RNA editing/histone remodeling can steer the function of genes in dynamic environments allowing for adaptive plasticity regardless of genetic predisposition. While a good half of a century has focused on the role of genes underlying a given trait, we know very little about how such plastic processes can influence traits and their evolution.
The Alvarado Lab is interested in the plastic molecular mechanisms that shape a genome’s response to natural changes in the environment. The Alvarado Lab primarily works with an African cichlid system Astatotilapia burtoni as well as various other animals capable of changing their body coloration (i.e.: Arctic mammals and cephalopods).
