Ana Galvez (Cultural and Evolutionary Anthropology), Xinyu Li (Biology), and Jonathan Rub (Math, Computer Science) spent ten weeks studying the impact of diet on organ and bone growth in developing laboratory rats. The goal was to provide insight into the growth dynamics of these model organisms that could eventually be generalized to inform research on human development.
Project Results: The team analyzed data consisting of rat images taken over the course of development, and spreadsheets containing previously collected measurements of individual growth trajectories. Using a variety of statistical and morphometric techniques, they quantified differences in the growth patterns between rats on a low-protein diet and those in a control group.
Click here for the Executive Summary
Faculty Lead: Frederik Nijhout
Project Managers: Rick Gawne, Kenneth McKenna
