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Ashley Bolden
 Ashley Bolden
has been interested in physiology since childhood, recalling that she once asked her mom, "Why do we have blood running through our bodies?" As a CU-Boulder undergraduate, she had the opportunity to engage in research, including investigating the expression of highly conserved regions of DNA in zebrafish development. Now as a CU graduate student, Ashley is doing research in a lab that explores the interactions between chemicals found outside the body (natural and human-caused environmental factors, e.g., metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) and chemical messengers found within (neuroendocrine signaling molecules that affect pathways in thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive tissue). Specifically, Ashley is investigating the impacts of estrogenic compounds on the reproductive physiology of fish located in effluent-dominated Boulder County streams. A Denver, Colorado native and graduate of Denver East High School, Ashley is thrilled to give back to her community and help your students experience the excitement of science.
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Special Presentations:
EAC's: Your "Chemical" Footprint
Environmental pollutants called endocrine disruptors (or endocrine active chemicals = EAC's) can have detrimental effects on the health of wildlife. In this presentation students will learn what EAC's are and how they may be impacting fish populations right here in Colorado. Using Fathead Minnows as a model organism, students will first examine various characteristics (size, color) as well as histological features to determine the effects of EAC's on these fish. Based on their findings, your students will then draw their own conclusions about the effects of EAC's on the reproductive success of these fish. This presentation provides an opportunity to discuss the impact of our personal "chemical footprints" on aquatic wildlife and the greater ecosystem. (Grades 9-12)
How to Stop a Retroviral Hijacking: Anti-HIV Agents
The HIV virus infects cells of our immune system and hijacks our cellular machinery, turning our own cells into virus factories. How do researchers design treatments that minimize or prevent this hijacking, without doing too much damage to our own cells? This presentation will begin with an examination of the complex viral life cycle of HIV. Equipped with this background knowledge, students will play the role of scientists and brainstorm ways they might disrupt the HIV life cycle. This will be followed by a discussion of how the real-life treatments for HIV infection specifically target the various steps of the HIV life cycle and their efficacy. (Grades 9-12)
Food Pyramids - It's Not Ancient History
How do we decide which foods make up a healthy, balanced diet? We begin this presentation by exploring the nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals found in different foods. Your students will get to create their own food pyramids, and then formulate a combination of foods that meet daily nutritional requirements. In doing this exercise, your students will experience ways to decide which foods contain key nutrients vital to physiological function and optimal health, helping them make healthy, nutritious choices when it comes to food! (Grades 4-12)
DNA - You Get to See It!
DNA is everywhere! All life forms from the tiniest bacterium to humans use the same instructions for life in the amazing double-helical molecule DNA. In this interactive presentation, students will get to extract and see DNA for themselves. They will get to observe how DNA from different life forms is similar in appearance, demonstrating the universality of this critical molecule that encodes life. As time allows, your students will also have the opportunity to explore the structure and function of DNA as part of this lesson. (Grades 4-12)
Ashley is a graduate student in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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