MASTER'S RESEARCH
Does Mother Know Best?
Maternal Effects In Response to Infection
Mothers can influence their offspring's development through the transfer of maternal antibodies. These antibodies, in theory, can provide passive immunity, influence growth, and prime the immune system of the neonate.
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My research objectives include examining predictors of disease-specific maternal antibody transfer and the effects of maternal antibodies on offspring growth and development in eastern bluebirds. I am particularly interested in how pathogen-specific maternal antibodies may impact offspring growth and the development of intrinsic immunity.
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Conversely, mothers can also transmit disease-causing organisms, such as pathogenic bacteria, to offspring. This transfer may be during embryonic development (vertical transmission) or post-hatching (horizontal transmission). I am also examining pathways of interfamily disease transmission within hosts and evaluating possible consequences of infection in naturally exposed neonatal hosts.
Balenger Lab 2019-2020:
L-R: Josh Smith undergraduate, Dr. Susan Balenger PI, Sarah Amonett graduate, Brooke Sykes graduate, Cole Becker undergraduate.
Special thanks to the following undergrads for their work on my projects: McKenzie Denton, Gurshan Kaur, Cole Becker, Emily DeFelice, Taylor Cabrera, and Josh Smith.
My research was funded by small grants from the Society of Integrative & Comparative Biology, North American Bluebird Society, the University of Mississippi Field Station, and the University of Mississippi Graduate Student Council.
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Thank you to all my funding sources!