Most of the research conducted in the Jeffries lab is related to aquatic toxicology. Broadly, our lab works to uncover the molecular, biochemical and whole-organism effects of contaminant exposures, but also aims to link contaminant-induced changes at these biological levels to population-level effects. Much of the lab's recent focus has been on determining the outcomes of exposures to contaminants with suspected endocrine activity on reproduction, growth, development and immunity using fish and amphibians as model organisms. We are particularly interested in how seemingly small contaminant-induced alterations in gene expression manifest into larger-scale whole organisms effects that impair individual fitness. We also have projects aimed at developing and refining toxicity testng methods, including the development of model organisms to assess immunotoxicity and the development of test methods that improve the welfare of fish used in routine toxicity assessments.
The Jeffries lab maintains three wet laboratories and a dry lab. Our three wet labs have been designed to house fish and amphibians. Our dry lab is equipped with state-of-the-art molecular biology equipment including a Maxell 16 automated robot for extracting RNA and DNA, an Experion automated gel electrophoresis system, a thermal cycler, a CFX qPCR detection system and a GenePix microarray scanner.
The Jeffries lab maintains three wet laboratories and a dry lab. Our three wet labs have been designed to house fish and amphibians. Our dry lab is equipped with state-of-the-art molecular biology equipment including a Maxell 16 automated robot for extracting RNA and DNA, an Experion automated gel electrophoresis system, a thermal cycler, a CFX qPCR detection system and a GenePix microarray scanner.