Event:

The role of a parent is to promote survival in their offspring. Growing evidence indicates adaptive and learned biological responses to stress experienced in a parent can be passed to the subsequent generation via epigenetic modifications in the germ line. This phenomenon, known as intergenerational epigenetic inheritance, suggests parents could unknowingly, but adaptively, prepare their offspring for the unpredictable pressures they have experienced in their lifetimes. The overarching goal of the Marlin Lab is to study the phenomenon of intergenerational epigenetic inheritance, with a primary focus on the olfactory system. We examine how neurons in the main olfactory epithelium of the nose encode odor-associated memories of fear. My lab and others have found this learning process leads to structural changes in the main olfactory epithelium, potentially making it more sensitive to the fearful odor. Remarkably, the structural changes observed in the main olfactory epithelium are also found in offspring, suggesting the threatening odor is not only represented in the nose, but also in the gametes of parents. We have uncovered a mechanism of this type of intergenerational epigenetic inheritance: an increase in newly-born cells tuned to the fear-associated odor. Understanding how memories are transmitted biologically, rather than experientially, can have a profound impact on society- providing inroads to earlier intervention and alleviating the burden of mental health crises.

About the Marlin lab:
The Marlin Lab investigates how organisms unlock innate behaviors at appropriate times, and how learned information is passed to subsequent generations via transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Dr. Marlin’s experimental approach combines neural imaging, behavior, and molecular genetics to uncover the mechanisms by which learning and emotion are biologically transmitted from neurons of the parent to neurons of their offspring.

Awards and Honors:
Dr. Marlin’s work has been recognized with several awards and honors, including:
Popular Science Magazine’s Brilliant 10, the STAT Wunderkind Award, the Allen Institute’s Next Generation Leaders Council, the Donald B. Lindsley Prize in Behavioral Neuroscience, and Discover Magazine’s Top 100 Stories. Her research and perspectives have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, Discover Magazine, and Forbes, among others.