Rita Graze, PhD
Short Bio
Rita M. Graze is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Her research focuses on the roles of sex determination and hormone signaling in gene regulation using Drosophila as a model with an evolutionary lens and functional genomics approach. Her expertise include genetics and genomics, transgenics, bioinformatics and statistical analysis. She teaches introductory and advanced courses in the area of genetics and genomics and her teaching focus is providing research-aligned courses and training experiences that foster research skills and scientific thinking.
Education
PhD Genetics - University of California, Davis, CA 2007
BA Biology - University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 1998
Professional Experience
2013–Present. Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Sciences and Mathematics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
2007–2012. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Innovation
Dr. Graze's primary research interest is in understanding how cell autonomous sex determination regulatorsinteract with cell nonautonomous signaling pathways to produce sex differences in gene regulation in organs and tissues and ultimately sex dimorphism in complex traits. The overarching questions that direct her research are: What is the role of these interactions in sex dimorphism in the endocrine-immune axis and the response to stress? How do the underlying mechanisms of gene regulation shape sex-specific variation? What is the impact on evolution? How do the pathways and regulatory mechanisms potentiate or constrain the evolution of sex differences? To study these questions, she uses the well-studied sex determination pathway of Drosophila as a model, with a focus on interactions with the insulin and insulin-like signaling pathway in the brain and gonad.
Engagement
Dr. Graze contributes to multiple programs that provide educational experiences, training and research opportunities to students at the graduate, undergraduate and K-12 levels with an emphasis on computational biology, evolution, and genetics, expanding how science is disseminated to the Auburn and broader regional community. Her experience includes the Summer Science Student-Teacher AUthentic Research Training (START) program for high school students; the Auburn University Summer Science Institute and Destination STEM programs; the Auburn Computational Biology and Collaborative Approaches among Scientists and Engineers NSF REU programs; and the Auburn Bioinformatics Bootcamp.
Courses Taught
Genetics — BIOL 3000
Gene Expression and rDNA Lab — BIOL 5521/6521
Model Systems in Genetics — BIOL 4970/7970
Functional Genomics — BIOL 5850/6850
