Hormone study wins major funding

Biologist Marc Tetel’s research on the action of estrogen in the brain has brought in a four-year, $892,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, through its National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
     Tetel studies how ovarian hormones affect the brain to regulate gene expression and female reproductive behavior. His research focuses on estrogen’s interactions with its receptor and other proteins to activate particular genes in the brain. His research, begun with an earlier NIH grant of $100,000, has implications for hormone-influenced disorders from depression to breast cancer.
     The grant will support research equipment, supplies, and personnel, including a full-time technician and three student research assistants.
     “This is wonderful news,” says Charles M. Joseph, dean of the faculty. Joseph adds that work such as Tetel’s is helping Skidmore develop its “enviable reputation as a research institution.”
     When Tetel joined the college in 2001, he says, “I was looking for a school that valued teaching and research, in a liberal arts environment with bright students.” He teaches neuroscience and neuro-endocrinology, as well as Liberal Studies 1, the interdisciplinary course taken by all freshmen.
     Tetel holds a Ph.D. in neurosciences and behavior from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. —KG, SR