For the 2025 summer, I was awarded a fellowship to continue endocrinology research with the biology faculty. During this time, we carried out a longitudinal study on Xenopus laevis tadpoles to determine if glucocorticoids (stress hormones) could accelerate metamorphosis when combined with (t3) thyroid hormone. Based on previous literature and studies, it has been proven that thyroid hormone is a powerful hormone known to climax at the time of metamorphosis in frogs, but we strive to look at the rate at which metamorphosis occurs. It is also known that stress hormones climax at the time of metamorphosis, and with environmental factors such as pond drying due to global warming, this can cause an increase in stress hormones. We know during metamorphosis that different programs, including cell death, proliferation, and remodeling, occur, and through imaging/ statistical analysis, we are able to see if these programs statistically differ. Within each program, there are measurements we can take, such as total body length, tail length, limb length, limb width, olfactory nerve length, interocular distance, jaw width/depth, and snout-ventral length. Furthermore, all these measurements can be paralleled to human perinatal development, as it has been proven that stress and thyroid hormones also climax during this time as the body remodels.
When this longitudinal research is concluded, we plan to publish and present our findings at a professional conference. I would like to thank the department for their time and efforts to help make this project an incredible learning experience, and I cannot wait to share our results.
