The Department of Biology would like to extend congratulations to Alexandra
Bentz. Alex was awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate
Research Fellowship (GRFP) for her PhD work. She will be graduating in May
and starting at Auburn University in the fall. GRFP recipients receive an
annual stipend plus a cost of education allowance. 

For Alex' MS research, she manipulated the breeding density of tree swallows
to naturally alter the amount of social aggression and, thus, yolk
testosterone transferred to eggs via maternal effects. She found that
nestlings hatched in high density sites are significantly more aggressive,
bold, and grow faster than those hatched in low density sites. Her Ph.D.
research will be a continuation of her MS work, trying to determine the
mechanism responsible for aggressive phenotypes resulting from prenatal
hormone exposure.

The National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program
(GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and
engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity.  The program
recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are
pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited US
institutions.