People

L. Michael Romero, Principal Investigator

Professor
Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford
Adjunct Professor
Environmental and Population Health
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, Grafton

My research interests focus on the vertebrate stress response. Ever since the mid-1950s, the concept of stress has consumed the attention of scientists and the public alike. We know that stress has a multitude of bad effects, and consequently an enormous amount of effort has gone into attempts to reduce stress. But even after nearly fifty years of study, we still have little knowledge of the factors that produce stress. We do know, however, that in certain circumstances stress is actually beneficial, especially when the stressful stimulus is a predator or a storm facing a wild animal.

Research in my laboratory is aimed at increasing our understanding of the reasons for, and the mechanisms underlying, stress in wild animals.