Alexandra B. Bentz
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Richards Hall 108 abentz at ou dot edu https://abentz.wixsite.com/bentzlab/ Ph.D. - University of Georgia, 2017RESEARCH:
Research in my lab broadly focuses on how social experiences are encoded into organismal function, leading to long-term changes in physiology and behavior both within and across generations. I use experimental and observational approaches in the field and the lab that integrate tools from behavioral endocrinology and genomics across scales, from the molecular to the evolutionary. This work primarily occurs in free-living songbirds to explore how these processes function in dynamic social environments.
Selected Publications:
Kaur, J., Paitz, R. T., Verrett, T. B., and Bentz, A. B. (2026) Socially responsive yolk steroids correlate with gene expression in early extra-embryonic membranes. Journal of Experimental Biology 229: 251188.
Lipshutz, S., Bentz, A. B., Cochran, E. B., Krajcir, K. J., Kimball, M. G., and Lattin, C. R. (2026) Distinct networks of expressed genes are associated with neophobia in the hippocampus of male and female Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus). Molecular Ecology 35: e70221. (SL & ABB co-first authors)
Lipshutz, S. E., Hibbins, M. S., Bentz, A. B., Buechlein, A., Empson, T. A., George, E. M., Hauber, M. E., Rusch, D. B., Schelsky, W. M., Thomas, Q. K., Torneo, S. J., Turner, A. M., Wolf, S. E., Woodruff, M. J., Hahn, M. W., and Rosvall, K. A. (2025) Repeated behavioural evolution is associated with convergence of gene expression incavity-nesting songbirds. Nature Ecology & Evolution 9: 845-856.
James, A. O. and Bentz, A. B. (2024) Predicting yolk testosterone allocation using ecological contexts and species-specific traits. Journal of Animal Ecology 93: 1736-1746.
Bailey, M. L., Nixon, C., Rusch, D. B., Buechlein, A., Rosvall, K. A., and Bentz, A. B. (2024) Maternal social environment shapes yolk testosterone allocation and embryonic neural gene expression in tree swallows. Hormones and Behavior 163: 105561.
Bentz, A. B., Empson, T. A., George, E. M., Rusch, D. B., Buechlein, A., and Rosvall, K. A. (2022) How experimental competition changes ovarian gene activity in free-living birds: Implications for steroidogenesis, maternal effects, and beyond. Hormones and Behavior 142: 105171.
Bentz, A. B., George, E. M., Wolf, S. E., Rusch, D. B., Podicheti, R., Buechlein, A., Nephew, K. P., and Rosvall, K.A. (2021) Experimental competition induces immediate and lasting effects on the neurogenome in free-living female birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118: e201615411.
Bentz, A. B., Niederhuth, C. E., Carruth, L. L., and Navara, K. J. (2021) Prenatal testosterone triggers long-term behavioral changes in male zebra finches: unravelling the neurogenomic mechanisms. BMC Genomics: 22: 158.