Eric Giesing

2008, BS Liberal Arts and Sciences with High Distinction in Integrative Biology, Minor in Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

505 S. Goodwin Ave.
429 Morrill Hall
Urbana, IL 61801
giesing2@illinois.edu

Research Interests
Broadly, I am interested in stress hormones and the effects they have on organisms. The presence of cortisol has been found in both early and late developmental stages in eggs of female fish, and it is thought to cause differences in size, growth, and morphology of fish larvae.

My research at the University of Illinois focuses on prenatal stress in threespined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). More specifically, I hope to answer some of the following questions: Is more cortisol transferred from mothers to oocytes during gametogenesis in stressed environments compared to controlled environments? What impacts and challenges remain as progeny enter adulthood if they received higher levels of maternally derived cortisol? Do progeny from stressed mothers respond differently to environmental stressors than progeny from non-stressed mothers? Are epigenetic modes of inheritance responsible for the transfer of increased cortisol levels between mothers, daughters, and granddaughters? Maternal cortisol could possibly have very important consequences on larval survival, fertilization and/or hatching success, growth rates, or even metabolic rates.  

Publication in process “The effect of constant high competition on mean lifespan of Drosophila.”