Shelley Adamo
FoS Killam Professor (to 2015),
Psychology
Education
1990 PhD (Biology), McGill University
1985 BSc (Zoology) University of Toronto
Grants and Awards (from 1999 – present)
Killam Professorship (Faculty of Science,
Dalhousie University), (2010-2015; $2,000/year)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Research Grant (2008-2013; $29,550/yr)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Accelerator Supplement Award (2008-2011; $40,000/yr)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Equipment Grant (2008; $12,830)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Research Grant (2003-2008; $23,500/yr)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Equipment Grant (2006; $24,675)
Killam Prize for Research (Dalhousie University), 2002, $2,000
Cooperative Employment Program, Province of Nova Scotia, 2002; $2,000
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Research Grant (1999- 2003; $23,100/yr)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Equipment Grant (2000; $18,198)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Equipment Grant (1999; $11,820)
Grass Fellowship Program, (Grass Foundation) Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA (Summer 1999; approx. $16,000).
51 Publications in Refereed Journal Articles
Scientific Membership
International Society for Neuroethology Entomological Society of Canada
Animal Behaviour Society Canadian Society of Zoologists
Professional Activities
Editor, Animal Behaviour, 2010-2012
Co-chair, Committee #1501 – Genes, Cells and Molecules, NSERC Discovery Grants Panel, 2011
Member of NSERC Discovery Grants Panel, Committee #1013, Integrative Animal Biology, 2008-2010.
Trustee, Grass Foundation. 2009-2012
Steering Committee, NSF Research Coordination Network in Ecoimmunology. 2010-2014 (http://ccoon.myweb.usf.edu/RDEI_RCN/Home.html)
Invited to Network meeting, Tampa, Jun 25 to 27th, 2010.
Editorial Board, Open Access Animal Physiology.
Organizing Committee, Invertebrate Pathology Meeting, Halifax, 2012
Organizing Committee, Canadian Society of Zoologists Meeting, Halifax, 2008
Organizing Committee, International Ethological Society Meeting, Halifax, 2007
Member of NSERC Life Science and Psychology Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee, 1999- 2001
Organizing Committee, American Society of Parasitology Meeting, Halifax, 2003
Elected Member of the Executive Council of the Animal Behavior Society, 1999-2002 (Member-at-Large)
Reviewer for Animal Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Behavioral Processes, Brain, Behavior and Immunity, Ecology, Ecological Entomology, Entomologica Experimentalis et Applicata, Ethology, European Journal of Entomology, Evolution, FEBS Letters, Functional Ecology, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Journal of Comparative Physiology A, Journal of Ethology, Journal of Experimental Biology, Journal of Insect Behavior, Journal of Insect Physiology, Journal of Neuroscience, Physiological Entomology, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, Science, Zoology
Reviewer for NSERC, NIH, NSF, Israeli Science Foundation, USDA, NERC (UK)
I review approximately 5 papers or proposals/month
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My laboratory explores the interactions between behaviour and physiology, using invertebrate model systems. For example, we study how and why animals change their behaviour when infected. In some cases the change in behaviour is produced by the host to help it overcome its infection, in some cases the pathogen manipulates the host’s behaviour for its own ends. We also study how and why immune function is influenced by factors such as stress and reproduction. The ability to resist disease is partly determined by behaviour.
We examine these questions in a series of related studies.
1. How does an immune challenge alter behaviour in crickets? Using primarily behavioural methods, we are determining the possible adaptive significance of the effects of immune activation on male aggressive behaviour, cricket reproductive behaviour, and cricket anti-predator behaviour.
2. Why do animals lose their appetite when ill? Illness-induced anorexia is produced by compounds released by the immune system, not by the pathogen. The behaviour is found in virtually all animals, but its function remains unknown. We use both behavioural and biochemical methods to study the effects of decreased feeding on lipid metabolism and immune function in crickets. We hypothesize that illness-induced anorexia reduces a physiological conflict between digestion and immune function.
3. Stress-induced immunosuppression exists in both insects and vertebrates. We use molecular techniques to study the effects of the stress neurohormone octopamine on insect immune cell function. We test how these effects differ depending on the physiological context (e.g. presence of a pathogen). We hypothesize that stress hormones reconfigure the immune system. This reconfiguration helps maintain immune function even as resources are being shifted away from the immune system and being redirected towards physiological systems needed for flight-or-fight behaviour.
Email: sadamo@dal.ca
Lab Website
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