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Jimmy Ruff WEST Fellow, Biology j.ruff@utah.edu

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My research interests are at the intersection of the fields of animal behavior, nutrition, and toxicology.  I use seminatural populations of house mice to assess the ultimate fitness impacts of nutritional additives and environmental toxins.  By utilizing a system that tests for fitness declines in the context of an animal’s natural environment (house mice live in basements), I have the ability to capture performance declines that are more complicated than classical measures such as death and cancer .  In essence I am able to ask the question “does this compound inhibit the ability for a mouse to be a mouse?”.
As a Utah native, I have been blessed by living at the confluence of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau.  I believe that all Utahns should have the opportunity to learn about and explore these ecosystems.  I see WEST as an opportunity to enhance scientific education, and share my admiration for the place we call home.