Fish Reproductive Physiology/

Marine Environmental Toxicology/Stressors

Peter Thomas, Ph.D.

University of Texas at Austin

Marine Science Institute

Port Aransas, TX  78373 

USA

peter.thomas@mail.utexas.edu

Brand new: 

Former MSI Thomas Lab Graduate Student Appointed Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute

Press Release:  Scientists isolate steroid-response molecules that may lead to new fertility drugs  Researchers have identified a new class of molecules in humans and other species that initiate a rapid response to hormones regulating fertility, sexual behavior and other processes.

Research Interests

My research interests are the endocrine control of reproduction in teleosts and how toxic chemicals and other environmental factors influence their endocrine and reproductive cycles. Research is conducted primarily on two marine perciform models of teleost reproduction, spotted seatrout and Atlantic croaker, at the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, Texas. Current interests include mechanisms of endocrine toxicity, the neuroendocrine control of gonadotropin secretion, the biosynthesis and molecular actions of steroid hormones, the physiological regulation and molecular structure of both nuclear and membrane steroid hormone receptors, the endocrine control of final oocyte maturation and sperm motility, and environmental toxicology.