Reproductive Endocrinology Laboratory Ramaley N384 Department of Integrative Physiology University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0354 phone: 303-735-4364

Research Interests

• Reproductive endocrinology of vertebrates and invertebrates.

Personnel

• Laboratory Director: Pei-San Tsai, Ph.D.


• Postdoctoral Fellows: Wilson Chung, Scott Kavanaugh, Johanna Rochester, Biao Sun.


• Research Assistant: Dana Jewett.


• Graduate Students: Leah Brooks, Wei Zhang.


• Undergraduate Students: Rosemary Eppinger, Duyet Le, Tynesha Matthews, Brooke Tata.

From right to left (order in parentheses): Wilson Chung (1), Johanna Rochester (3), Brooke Tata (4), Rosemary Eppinger (5), Vevian Zhang (6), Leah Brooks (8), Biao Sun (10), Pei-San Tsai (11), Scott Kavanaugh (12).

Current Research Projects

• Development of embryonic gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons.


• Functional and structural evolution of gonadotropin-releasing hormone.


• How sex steroids regulate hypothalamic, pituitary, and gonadal functions in rodents and amphibians.


• Neuroendocrine regulation of maternal behavior in rodents.

Opportunities for Undergraduates

• The requirements for undergraduate students who want a research experience in our Laboratory are:


• Junior or senior status.
• Minimum commitment of one year.
• Be able to work at least 8 hours per week.
• Either have completed or be concurrently enrolled in IPHY 3410 (Human Anatomy) or IPHY 3470/3480 (Human Physiology)
• Participate in UROP or enroll in independent study (IPHY 4860).


• For more information, contact Prof. Pei-san Tsai (pei-san.tsai@colorado.edu)

Recent Publications

• Chung WC, Moyle SS, Tsai P-S. Fibroblast growth factor 8 signaling through FGF receptor 1 is required for the emergence of gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Endocrinology 149:4997-5003, 2008.


• Falardeau J, Chung WC, Beekeen A, Plummer L, Sidis Y, Raivio T, Dwyer A, Na S, Hall J, Huot C, Alois N, Quinton R, Cole LW, Hughes V, Mohammadi M, Tsai P-S, Pitteloud N. Decreased FGF8 signaling causes GnRH deficiency in human and mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation 118:2822-2831, 2008.


• Tsai P-S, Zhang L. The emergence and loss of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in protostomes: Orthology, phylogeny, structure, and function. Biology of Reproduction 79:798-805, 2008.


• Zhang L, Kessler AE, Tsai P-S. Characterization of steroidal regulation of gonadtoropin beta subunits in the male leopard frog, Rana pipiens. General and Comparative Endocrinology 150:66-74, 2007.


• Zhang L, Tello JA, Zhang W, Tsai P-S. Molecular cloning, expression pattern, and immunocytochemical localization of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone-like molecule in the gastropod mollusk, Aplysia californica. General and Comparative Endocrinology 156:201-209, 2008.

Funding

• 2008-2011, NSF, "Functional and Structural Evolution of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone."


• 2009-2014, NIH, "FGF Regulation of GnRH Neurons."