Howard Hughes Medical Institute award

Parenthood induces a host of changes in the brain to promote survival of offspring. Some alterations are new, while others unmask latent or 'turned off' behaviors that exist within us. Bianca Jones Marlin explores how the brain's sensory systems and emotional circuits are altered by parenthood and related experiences. She combines high-resolution imaging, behavior, and molecular genetics to uncover how parents may unknowingly, but adaptively, prepare offspring for challenges they have experienced through the transfer of biological adaptations, called 'transgenerational inheritance.' She hopes her work will inform healthcare breakthroughs, identifying how to halt the maladaptive transmission of stress across generations.