Karl Glastad

Karl Glastad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester's School of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms governing lifespan regulation, behavioral plasticity, and social caste determination in ants. He employs model systems such as Harpegnathos saltator and Camponotus floridanus to investigate epigenetic and hormonal pathways that underpin aging, stress responses, and caste-specific traits. Glastad's work combines experimental approaches like transgenic manipulation, neuronal culture studies, and in vivo ant research with interdisciplinary methods in molecular biology and genomics.

Education: PhD (specific institution not listed). Current roles include accepting PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. His lab explores conserved and novel mechanisms of aging mitigation, blood-brain barrier regulation of behavior, and the evolutionary origins of social insect traits. Collaborations include work with Janko Gospocic and others on hormonal signaling pathways and epigenetic regulators such as HSF2 and CoREST.

• Key projects: Lifespan extension in reproductive ants, epigenetic disruption by SARS-CoV-2, and neurohormonal control of caste behavior.
• Methodologies: Transgenic manipulation, transcriptomic profiling, and comparative genomics.
• Future directions: Exploring convergent mechanisms in eusocial systems like termites and naked mole-rats.