I initially became interested in circadian rhythms during a research project for my Honors

Chemistry class. We were assigned to pick one subject of interest related to chemistry and write
about it. I chose to study vitamin D, and throughout my research, I realized how powerful this
little molecule really is: it acts on several hundred different genes in the body! Since I also take
vitamin D on a daily basis, I asked a very fundamental question: is there a difference to taking
vitamin D in the morning or nighttime? I reasoned that, since vitamin D is manufactured in our
skin through exposure to the sun, taking vitamin D at night could, as a daytime signal, disrupt
our daily rhythms. This question remained on my mind and led me to discover the field of
chronobiology, whereupon I joined the de la Iglesia lab. Although I have worked on several
projects thus far, this is the first time I will take full responsibility for a project from start to
finish. I will play a central role, from developing experimental apparatus for housing mice to
gathering and interpreting results. Dr. de la Iglesia has continued to guide me through the
complexities of the circadian system by reinforcing basic principles during weekly lab and
personal meetings. Truly understanding basic principles that underlie chronobiology and
scientific experimental design will allow me to design experimental approaches to answer my
own questions, like the one about vitamin D that remains unanswered. The ability to comprehend
the basic logic behind scientific reasoning will foster greater independence of thought as I pursue
a future in graduate school.
Recently, I took Dr. de la Iglesias class on biological clocks. One of the big themes
emphasized in the class was the ability for different types of stimuli to impact the circadian
system. The light-dark cycle is the most pervasive entraining stimulus for our central circadian
clock. However, we also learned that other stimuli, such as food availability, can also have a
profound effect on the output of the circadian system. The experiment that I am currently

performing has been complementary to what I learned in the classroom, as it employs many of
the same experimental techniques that we read about in the research papers. For example, it uses
analogous protocols of enforcing a specific light-dark cycle and allowing the animal to go into
free-running conditions, a classical manipulation to assess the endogenous nature of a biological
rhythm. This ability to simultaneously learn theory and apply it to my own experiments provided
an additional excitement to learning, an emotional connection that made me want to go to class
every day. At the same time, I face new challenges specific to this experiment that go beyond
what I have read about, developing my creativity in problem solving. In the future, this creativity
will also help me progress from one project to another, asking questions and making connections
that continually expand the scope of the research.
My project studies the ability of fear to act as an entraining stimulus for the circadian system.
Fear is an interesting phenomenon because it pervades all aspects of human life and profoundly
affects behavior. It can come in the form of anxiety, whether from public speaking or from
debilitating phobias. We have all had personal experience with this emotion, and we all know
how adversely it can affect our performance. In the form of social anxiety, it prevents us from
taking leadership positions to inspire young students. Even worse, it condemns some of our
soldiers who have valiantly served our country to live in a constant state of torment. This
research is thus pertinent to my future, as I desire to go into clinical research, where I can help
develop treatments that alleviate mental and physical suffering. If our research continues, we
could understand one of the ways in which the body changes its behavior in response to fear.
Ultimately, if we know how and why fear changes circadian behavior, then we can potentially
create new treatments for both physical and mental illness.