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Topics for the Classroom:
- Hibernation Strategies
- Polar Bear Physiology and Global Warming
- Electrocardiograms
- Electromyograms and Force Output
- Skeletal Muscle Fiber-Typing
- Measuring Metabolic Rate
- Taking Vital Signs
- Composting Experiments
- Careers in Physiology
What I Bring to the Classroom:
Have you ever wondered what exactly an electrocardiogram is? Or just how many calories you're burning up each hour? If so, invite me to your classroom! I have extensive experience teaching / researching comparative physiology and as such, I try and bring many of the key principles and techniques from the field into the classroom. Examples include: recording and analyzing electrocardiograms (ECG's), fiber-typing skeletal muscle, measuring metabolic rates via oxygen consumption, and learning how to take vital signs (blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, and body temperature). All lessons can be adjusted for a broad spectrum of student ages and backgrounds.
Education:
- B.A., Biology & Environmental Studies, St. Olaf College
- M.S., Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming
- Ph.D. Candidate in Zoology and Physiology
Current Research:
My research focuses on the physiological obstacles that hibernators face during the winter, particularly the means by which they overcome these hurdles. Two key problems hibernators must cope with are skeletal muscle atrophy incurred during the winter and regulation of proper kidney function in the face of widely varying blood pressure. Currently, I conduct experiments investigating changes in kidney function during arousal from hibernation and the associated mechanisms by which arousing animals avoid dehydration. I'm also currently conducting experiments concerning bone loss during hibernation and its relevance to the formation of kidney stones. We hope the results from these experiments will lead to the development of novel methods of treating various human kidney diseases and the prevention of kidney stone formation, particularly for astronauts.
Background:
I grew up on a farm in eastern South Dakota, the tail-end of five kids (fun fact: half my grandparents were born in the 19th century). I attended various small schools in South Dakota before attending college in Minnesota. Following a degree in biology and environmental studies, I worked as a restoration ecologist for Prairie Restorations and The Nature Conservancy. Somewhere along the way I became interested in hibernation physiology and suddenly found myself in Wyoming, where I've been ever since. Despite a general paucity of chlorophyll and a robust supply of wind, I've become quite enamored of the state and enjoy meeting new students and teachers throughout Wyoming. Go Pokes!
Papers:
- Cotton, C.J., and H.J. Harlow. 2010. Avoidance of skeletal muscle atrophy in spontaneous and facultative hibernators. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 83: 551-560.
- Cotton, C.J., and H.J. Harlow. 2009. Do hypothermic tissue tolerances limit torpor expression? Journal of Thermal Biology 34: 206-211.
- Rourke, B.C., C.J. Cotton, H.J. Harlow and V.J. Caiozzo. 2006. Maintenance of slow type I myosin protein and mRNA expression in overwintering prairie dogs (Cynomys leucurus and ludovicianus) and black bears (Ursus americanus). Journal of Comparative Physiology B-Biochemical Systemic and Environmental Physiology 176: 709-720.
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