Across animal systems, the face is specifically an information-rich region that may communicate identity, individual quality, and intention for visually guided species, e.g. primates, sheep, paper wasps, and jumping spiders. How are faces viewed differently compared to other complex objects in the environment? What facial features are critical for facial recognition? What function does facial morphology serve in an ecological context? How has facial ornaments diversified under different community makeup? These are questions I explore using the Habronattus paradise jumping spiders, a genus with a particularly high diversity of species-specific facial patterns and colorations. I utilize a variety of techniques, including gaze tracking (in collaboration with the Beth Jakob lab at UMASS), video playbacks, live pair interactions, hyperspectral measurements, and computer vision analyses. 

CRISPR/Cas9 and troglomorphic adaptations in the blind Mexican cave fish 

Principal Investigator: Nicolas Rohner, Stowers Institute for Medical Research 

The blind Mexican cave fish naturally exists in two morphotypes: a regular surface morph and a blind, depigmented, phenotypically diabetic cave morph. As a research technician in the Rohner lab, I primarily established CRISPR/Cas9 genome-engineering in zebrafish and the blind Mexican cave fish (Astyanax mexicanus). Additionally, I investigated troglomorphic adaptations of cave vs. surface fish through a series of experiments (e.g. high fat diet metabolism, depigmentation, fin regeneration, eye development, insulin resistance, appetite, iridophore development). 

Neuromast expansion and cranial bone fragmentation in the blind Mexican cavefish

Advisor: Joshua B. Gross, University of Cincinnati

The cave morphotype exhibits both a heightened number of cranial neuromasts and natural fragmentations to their largest cranial bone (suborbital-3), dividing the bone into 2+ pieces. As a NSF-REU, I quantified the number of bone fragmentations and neuromast numbers in captive bred surface-dwelling fish and Pachón cavefish using vital fluorescent dyes. I found interactions between fragmentation patterns and increased neuromast numbers. 

Epigenetic effects of diet and exercise in fruit flies

Advisor: Christopher J. Mingone, Berry College

For my undergraduate research project, I investigated the effects of parental high fat diet on subsequent generations and whether exercise may mitigate the maleffects using Drosophila melanogaster. We fed parental generations a high fat diet and quantified developmental noise of F1 and F2 generations through sternopleural bristle asysmmetry. Additionally, we regulated exercise by using a custom-made ‘fly treadmill’ created in collaboration with the Berry College engineering department. For F1 and F2 flies whose parents and/or grandparents were on high fat diet, we found increased asymmetry in sternopleural bristle counts, though exercise did not seem to reduce this asymmetry.

Sung, J.Y.*, Harris, O.K.*, Hensley, N.M., Chemero, A.P., and Morehouse, N.I. 2021. Beyond cognitive templates: re-examining template metaphors used for animal recognition and navigation. Integrative and Comparative Biology. In review. *co-first-authorship 

Riddle, M.R., Aspiras, A.C., Gaudenz, K., Peuß, R., Sung, J.Y., Martineau, B., Peavey, M., Box, A., Tabin, J.A., McGaugh, S., Borowsky, R., Tabin, C.J., and Rohner, N. 2018. Insulin resistance in cavefish as an adaptation to a nutrient-limited environment. Nature 555:647–651. doi:10.1038/nature26136