This three-year award for U.S.-France cooperative research in neuroendocrinology involves the research group of Yonathan Zohar of the United States Air Force Academy and Sylvie Dufour of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, France. The award provides travel and living expenses to Dr. Zohar, a postdoctoral researcher, and a graduate student for short-term visits to France. The objective of the research is to investigate the differential regulation of two forms of Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) present in teleost fish, the European eel, and striped bass. This hormone produced in the brain is essential for the control of reproduction in all vertebrates. In particular, the investigators are interested in the differential roles of multiple GnRHs and their involvement in reproduction in a single species. The project takes advantage of the complementary expertise of the investigators and will advance our understanding of the function of multiple GnRH in reproduction.
