Josh Snodgrass (with co-PI  William R. Leonard, Northwestern University) has received an NSF from the Office of Polar Programs (Arctic Social Sciences) for $166,860. The project, titled "International Polar Year--Metabolic adaptation among indigenous Siberians: Causes and consequences,"  proposes to address a long standing interest among polar scientists in the adaptability and physiology of humans in the Arctic. The project will focus on the nature of basal metabolic rates (BMR) in Arctic peoples. Existing data from numerous research studies shows that metabolic elevation is an apparent physiological adaptation to cold stress, however, the causal relationship and the mechanisms of this elevation are poorly understood. The proposed research will 1) investigate metabolic elevation and seasonal energy dynamics; 2) clarify hormonal factors associated with metabolic elevation; and 3) consider whether metabolic elevation shapes chronic disease patterns among Arctic population. The grant includes money for three quarters of graduate student support (most likely during the 2009-10 academic year).

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