People
Michael Adams
Mailing Address:
EntomologyBiological Sciences /3107
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
Phone: (951) 827-4746
Fax: (951) 827-3087
Email: michael.adams@ucr.edu
Degree(s):
PhD 1978 UC RiversideCollege/Division Affiliation:
College of Natural and Agricultural SciencesCenter/Inst Affiliation(s):
Center for Disease Vector ResearchCenter for Glial-Neuronal Interactions
Areas Of Expertise:
Mosquito NeurohormonesAwards / Honors:
2002 AAAS Fellow (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
1980 Max Planck Stipendium
1979-80 NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship
1978 DAAD Postdoctoral Fellowship
1978 NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship
Research Summary:
We examine the molecular physiology of innate animal behaviors known as "fixed action patterns." Our focus is on ecdysis, a fixed action pattern performed by insects each time the old cuticle is shed. Neural signaling pathways underlying ecdysis behaviors arise de novo during each developmental stage following new gene expression under the control of steroid and peptide hormones. Our objective is to explain how behaviors are constructed through coordinated expression, and how they are released through hormonal and neurotransmitter signaling pathways in the brain. A second research area focuses on the biological chemistry of venom toxins from spider, scorpions and wasps, and who they modify ion channels in nerve membranes.