Biology

BIOL 131: Human Anatomy & Physiology

BIOL 464: Endocrinology

My research is geared towards understanding endocrine-immune interactions of vertebrates, with a particular interest in how such interactions are shaped by seasonality. Most of my research focuses upon seasonally breeding birds, but rodents are studied as well.  I am also intrigued by sleep and circadian rhythms, and am currently investigating how sleep-wake cycles are regulated in animals inhabiting polar environments, most notably the Arctic. Nearly all of the research in my lab has biomedical applications and more specifically is related to several health-related fields, including endocrinology, stress physiology, epidemiology, immunology, and neuroscience.

Postdoc (2011-2012) – Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH

Postdoc (2009-2010)- University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK & University of California, Berkeley, CA

Ph. D. in Zoology (2004)- University of Washington, Seattle, WA

B.A. in Biology (1997)- Colby College, Waterville, ME

Dumaine, J. E., and Ashley, N. T. 2015. Acute sleep fragmentation induces tissue-specific changes in cytokine gene expression and increases serum corticosterone concentration. American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. In press.

Ashley, N. T., Ubuka, T., Schwabl, I. Goymann, W., Salli, B.^*, Bentley, G. E., and Buck, C. L. 2014. Revealing a circadian clock in captive arctic-breeding songbirds, Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus), under constant illumination. Journal of Biological Rhythms 29:456-69.

Ashley, N. T., Walton, J. C., Haim, A., Zhang, N., Prince, L. A., Fruchey, A. M., Lieberman, R. A., Weil, Z. M., Magalang, U. J., Nelson, R. J. 2013. Sleep deprivation attenuates cytokine gene expression independent of photoperiod and circulating cortisol in endotoxin-challenged male Siberian hamsters. Journal of Experimental  Biology, In press

Ashley, N. T., Schwabl, I., Goymann, W., and Buck, C. L. 2013. Keeping time under the midnight sun: behavioral and melatonin profiles of free-living Lapland Longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) during the Arctic summer. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A. 319:10-12.

Ashley, N. T., Weil, Z. W., and Nelson, R. J. 2012. In press. Inflammation: mechanisms, costs, and natural variation. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.

Ashley, N. T., Zhang, N., Weil, Z. M., Magalang, U., Nelson, R. J. 2012. Photoperiod alters the duration and intensity of non-REM sleep following immune challenge in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus). Chronobiology International. 29:683-692.

Ashley, N. T. and J. C. Wingfield.  2012. Sickness Behavior in Vertebrates: Allostasis, Life History Modulation, and Hormonal Regulation. In: G. E. Demas and R. J. Nelson, eds. EcoImmunology. Pp. 45-91. Oxford University Press.