This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)
The ultraviolet radiation (UVR) spectrum of solar light represents a major environmental stressor, which is absorbed predominantly by the skin. This project will test the hypothesis that skin contains a sophisticated stress response system that is activated by UVR and regulates body homeostasis through endocrine effects or through activation of the brain via sensory nerve endings. Using mice as a model and techniques of photobiology, endocrinology, molecular biology, biochemistry and pathology, the transformation of UVR energy into neuro-hormonal responses at the local (skin) and global (entire organism) levels will be studied. This research will reveal how the body of vertebrates responds to UVR stimuli and how the brain receives and further transmits information encoded by the electromagnetic energy of UVR absorbed by the skin. A broad biological impact will be represented by answering a fundamental biological question on the organization of stress response to the UVR fraction of solar light and its conservation at both peripheral (skin) and central (brain and endocrine system) levels. This will form a basis for further analyses on the evolution of the stress response system and the role of solar radiation in this process. This research will involve high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, as well as post-docs, and a special emphasis will be placed on recruiting students from groups underrepresented in science.
