Expert Source: Sarah M. Leupen, Ph.D.

Sarah Leupen teaches courses in human and comparative physiology, and animal reproduction. Her current research focuses on how pesticides and other chemicals in groundwater are affecting the reproductive development of male and female salamanders. In her research, she seeks to understand how the regulation of reproductive processes occurs normally, how it is mediated by the nervous system, and how it can be disrupted.

Education:

• B.A., Oberlin College
• Ph.D., Northwestern University

Areas of Expertise:

• Human and comparative physiology and neuroendocrinology
• Reproductive endocrinology and reproductive system development, including potential development disruptors
• Effects of groundwater contamination on amphibians

Selected Publications:

• To Be or Not to Be: A Testis or an Ovary? The Role of GnRH in Salamander Reproduction. Purwar J*, Maley AJ* and SM Leupen. Summer Science Research Symposium, Ohio Wesleyan University, September 2005.
• Pattern of GnRH release in an ambystomid salamander, the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). Abigail Maley*, Jahnvi Purwar* and Sarah Leupen. Ohio Physiological Society, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, November 2006.
• Heterogeneous Expression of the Potassium-Chloride Cotransporter KCC2 in GnRH Neurons of the Adult Mouse. S.M. Leupen, S.A. Tobet, W.F. Crowley, Jr., and Kai Kaila. Endocrinology 144: 3031-36, 2003.

*Indicates an undergraduate author.