Mount Holyoke Professor Patty Brennan receives lifetime honor for genital morphology research

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

A comic posted outside of Mount Holyoke Professor Patty Brennan’s office depicts two ducks going on a dinner date. As the female duck excitedly chatters about the latest avian gossip — old men tossing bread, close encounters with dogs — the male duck is distracted by a more pragmatic thought: “Oh my god. Your vagina better spiral in the same direction as my penis or I am out.”

Brennan is an associate professor of biological sciences whose research focuses on the evolution of genital morphology in animals, according to the Mount Holyoke College website. In Jan. 2023, Brennan was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a lifetime award granted to “scientists, engineers and innovators from around the world” in recognition of the contributions to society made throughout their careers, according to AAAS. The AAAS Fellow award dates back to 1874, with previous honorees including W.E.B. DuBois, the “founding father of American sociology,” and Ellen Ochoa, a former astronaut and the first Hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center, states their website. According to the College, Brennan was one of over 500 Fellows elected to the 2022 class. “I’m actually really excited about it because I love AAAS,” she said of the award, adding that she has been a member of the organization since grad school.

Brennan’s interest in biology came long before her emergence into the field of genital morphology. She studied the cardiac function of marine animals at the Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá, Colombia, and later went on to spend two years on a research boat traveling around the Galapagos Islands and Costa Rica. She then completed a doctorate at Cornell University, where her research largely focused on birds. She explained that upon starting the program she was less familiar with avian research, but was drawn to the field by an opportunity to study a group of birds in her home country of Colombia. Brennan had no idea at the time, but this group of birds was one of the few species that have penises, which would ultimately shape the direction of her career, she said.

“When I watched them mating, I saw the penis and I realized,” she said of her discovery of the birds’ genitalia. “I thought it was so weird,” she continued. This initial glimpse into the world of avian genital morphology made her realize how little was known about the subject, and she resolved to investigate it further.

Morphology, in a biological context, refers to “the study of the size, shape and structure of animals, plants and microorganisms and of the relationships of their constituent parts,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Brennan’s research has explored genital morphology throughout the animal kingdom.

The diversity of animals found in Brennan’s studies is a product of her opportunistic research style. She explained that she reaches out to other labs in search of animal carcasses, and begins a study once she has enough specimens to work on. She remarked that it is relatively easy to obtain specimens, as most focus on parts of animals other than the genitalia, “in fact I have three freezers full of dead things downstairs,” she said with a laugh.

In the early days of her research, she discovered that female ducks have complex vaginas, which tells a “story of sexual conflict in genitalia,” she said. Sexual conflict is a common theme throughout Brennan’s research. The term describes when male and female members of a species have opposing reproductive interests, she explained. While both feel the biological urge to reproduce and advance the survival of their species, males and females may “disagree on the details,” such as who cares for the offspring. These differences are not expressed over a bread basket in a nice restaurant, as the comic outside Brennan’s office may suggest, but through the evolution of their genitalia. Genital morphology has evolved in a variety of ways in response to sexual conflict, Brennan explained, from mechanisms in females’ vaginas that prevent the entrance of an unwanted male, to penile spines that injure females during procreation, delaying future procreation until they are healed. “For ducks, it is about where the sperm ends up,” she said.

According to a 2009 study conducted by Brennan and other researchers at Yale University, ducks have unique corkscrew-shaped genitalia with an important difference between the sexes — while females have vaginas that spiral in a clockwise direction, males’ penises spiral counterclockwise. This is an example of “sexually antagonistic genital coevolution” which is when “the sexes evolve traits that allow them to control the outcome of fertilization,” the study said. The study found that the opposing morphology of the male and female genitalia can prevent the penis from fully entering the vagina in situations of unwanted copulation. As a result, the male duck’s sperm is deposited farther from the ovaries during forced copulation, helping the female avoid an unwanted pregnancy. “I was surprised that this was something that was not already known,” she said of the female’s unique anatomy, adding that she then wanted to see if her discovery applied to other species, leading to a wealth of new research on the genital morphology of other animals including bats, snakes and dolphins.

Another focus of Brennan’s research is clitoris morphology. According to ResearchGate, her publications on the subject include the first “complete description” of the snake clitoris and a study that suggests the presence of functional clitorises in dolphins. “I think that it is asking about pleasure, and the evolution of pleasure and the importance of pleasure,” she said of her research. She added that she aims to improve the understanding of human pleasure through her work and disrupt the notion that “everyone expects that sex will be pleasurable for males, but females not so much”, commenting that issues related to pleasure are often ignored “as long as [the individual] can still get pregnant.”

Her research in vaginal biomechanics, which investigates the diversity found in vaginal structures, comes from a similar motivation. This diversity plays an important role in the study of the human vagina. She offered the example of research on the effects of birth on the human vagina, which is often done using rat vaginas despite their major morphological dissimilarities. Brennan hopes to use her research on biomechanic diversity to find bet-

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Graphic by Sunny Wei ’23

All about STIs: prevention and testing

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

According to an article from Planned Parenthood, STIs are “infections that are passed from one person to another during sexual activity.” The use of a barrier — such as a condom or dental dam — is “one of the best ways” to avoid contracting an STI, the article said. This is because they prevent genital skin-to-skin contact as well as the exchange of sexual fluids. Most STIs do not cause any symptoms, so getting tested regularly is an important way to prevent their spread, Planned Parenthood explained. The type of testing used varies depending on the STI but can include a urine test, physical exam or swab. Some tests will produce instant results, while others take between days and weeks.

STI testing is available at Mount Holyoke Health Services and is covered by the Student Health Insurance Plan, according to Dr. Cheryl Flynn of the Health Center. Students with their own private health insurance and the “prepaid plan” can also receive testing free of cost. Health Services offers STI screening for students based on “their sexual behaviors and the risk of infections associated with those,” as well as diagnostic testing for students experiencing symptoms of an STI, Flynn explained.

Most tests cost between $20 and $50, with the exception of the Hepatitis B antibody test (around $65), Hepatitis C test (around $68) and the Herpes Simplex I and II test (around $330).

Those without the student health insurance plan will have the cost of the tests added to their Student Bill. Charges are noted as “health center charges” on the Student Bill, with no further details about the visit, Flynn said. Students are informed of their results, positive or negative, through My Health Connection.

Health Services also offers STI treatment, typically consisting of antibiotics or antiviral medications which are often available on-site. According to Flynn, for treatments that the health center does not carry, such as HIV and Hepatitis C, patients are referred to a specialist.