Mariela Faykoo-Martinez

Mariela Faykoo-Martinez

Title/Position
PhD student
Cell and Systems Biology

I am a PhD student in Cell and Systems Biology and am in the Collaborative Graduate Program in Genome Biology and Bioinformatics. This collaborative program has fostered the unique opportunity for me to bridge our research program with comparative genomics alongside Dr. Michael Wilson’s lab (Hospital for Sick Children). My PhD focuses on how social environment mediates the most extreme form of mammalian pubertal suppression. I use genomic and epigenetic techniques to understand how molecular pathways are linked across brain regions essential to both sociality and reproduction.

Publications

Faykoo-Martinez M, Mooney SJ, Holmes MM. 2018. Oxytocin manipulation alters neural activity in response to social stimuli in eusocial naked mole-rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 12: 272. Invited submission for special issue “Social Decision Making in Mammals”. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00272.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Monks DA, Zovkic I, Holmes MM. 2018. Sex- and brain-region specific patterns of gene expression associated with socially-mediated puberty in a eusocial mammal. PLOS ONE, 13(2): e0193417. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193417.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Toor I, Holmes MM. 2017. Solving the neurogenesis puzzle: looking for pieces outside the traditional box. Front Neurosci 11: 505. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00505 

Hathaway GA, Faykoo-Martinez M, Peragine DE, Mooney SJ, Holmes MM. 2016. Subcaste differences in neural activation suggest a prosocial role for oxytocin in eusocial naked mole-rats. Hormones and Behavior, 79: 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.12.001.

Presentations

Faykoo-Martinez M, Zhang Z, Yuki K, Palmert MR, Wilson MD, Holmes MM. (October 2018). Identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying socially-mediated pubertal suppression in the naked mole-rat. CEEHRC 5th Canadian Conference for Epigenetics, Esterel, QC, Canada.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Ziolkowski J, Kolisnyk M, Hart K, Collins TF, Peragine D, Holmes MM. (July 2018). Putative role of hypothalamic neurogenesis in neuroendocrine control of pubertal suppression. International Congress for Neuroendocrinology, Toronto, ON.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Qiu L, Darwin B, van Eede M, Ellegoode J, Lerch J, Holmes MM. (May 2018). Imaging sex and social status differences in the naked mole-rat. Southern Ontario Neuroscience Association, Guelph, ON.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Qiu L, Darwin B, van Eede M, Ellegoode J, Lerch J, Holmes MM. (April 2018). Imaging sex and social status differences in the naked mole-rat. Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, Atlanta, GA, Canada.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Barranti M, Monks DA, Zovkic I, Holmes MM. (May 2017). Neuroendocrine control of socially-mediated puberty occurs in a sex-specific manner. Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Faykoo-Martinez M, Azam AA, Monks DA, Zovkic I, Holmes MM. (August 2016). Neuroendocrine control of reproductive suppression in the naked mole-rat. Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Montreal, QC.

Awards 

NSERC Post-graduate Scholarship - Doctoral (2018-2020)

Massey College Junior Fellowship (2018-present)

NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters (2017)

CSB Ramsay R. Wright Scholarship (2017)

Florence Haseltine Best Poster Award (Organization for the Study of Sex Differences) (2017)

UTM Dean’s Excellence Award in Research and Experiential Learning (2017)

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award Fellowship (2016)