NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

2015 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1523759
• 负责人: Delbert Green
• 金额: $ 20.7万
• 依托单位: Green Delbert A
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1523759&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Delbert A. Green II is "Molecular genetic basis of migration in the Monarch butterfly." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of Chicago, and the sponsoring scientists are Dr. Marcus Kronforst (primary) and Dr. Steven Reppert (The University of Massachusetts Medical School). Migration is a behavioral adaptation that has evolved in diverse taxa, from bacteria to humans, and is a successful and complex strategy for surviving in heterogeneous environments. Current knowledge suggests that there is no single explanataion of how migration works and elucidating the mechanisms requires integrating studies of behavior, physiology, and morphology. Although many species-specific migration adaptations have been described without the emergence of a single mechanism, there are some features of animal migrations that are nearly universal. The evolutionary conservation of these traits suggests that a common mechanism may underlie animal migrations. The monarch butterfly, one of America's treasured migrators, presents an excellent model for researching the mechanism of animal migration. This research seeks to uncover the molecular genetic basis of monarch migration using a combination of behavioral, developmental, genetic/genomic, and biochemical studies. The fellowship also affords the opportunity for scientific training for the Fellow with a focus on experimental techniques to study various aspects of monarch biology, including development, behavior, anatomy, and physiology as well as next-generation sequencing data generation and analysis. New tools for conducting functional genetics studies in monarchs are being developed. Coupled with existing knowledge of monarch natural history and ecology, the research promises to produce a comprehensive model for understanding complex trait evolution. Exploring environmental and genetic determinants of migration promises critical new insights relevant to monarch conservation strategies. A major goal of this project is to broaden participation of under-represented groups in biology through educational outreach by training and mentoring undergraduate students as a role model. Additionally, a novel pilot program to engage high school and middle school students in studies of monarch biology is being developed to provide technical preparation in STEM subjects and promote community-centered science engagement. The pilot program complements ongoing efforts to enhance existing programs for monarch conservation and learning about monarchs in particular but also to generate enthusiasm for and success in STEM fields for under-represented groups.

该行动资助 2015 财年 NSF 生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大参与范围。该奖学金支持研究员所在实验室的研究和培训计划，以及扩大科学领域代表性不足群体参与的计划。 德尔伯特·A·格林二世 (Delbert A. Green II) 的研究计划的标题是“帝王蝶迁徙的分子遗传基础”。该奖学金的主办机构是芝加哥大学，赞助科学家是 Marcus Kronforst 博士（小学）和 Steven Reppert 博士（马萨诸塞大学医学院）。迁移是一种行为适应，在从细菌到人类的不同类群中进化而来，是在异质环境中生存的一种成功而复杂的策略。目前的知识表明，对于迁移如何进行没有单一的解释，阐明其机制需要综合行为、生理学和形态学的研究。尽管在没有出现单一机制的情况下描述了许多物种特异性的迁徙适应，但动物迁徙的一些特征几乎是普遍存在的。这些特征的进化保守性表明，动物迁徙可能存在一个共同的机制。帝王蝶是美国珍贵的迁徙动物之一，为研究动物迁徙机制提供了一个极好的模型。 这项研究旨在结合行为、发育、遗传/基因组和生化研究来揭示帝王蝶迁徙的分子遗传基础。该奖学金还为研究员提供科学培训的机会，重点是研究帝王蝶生物学各个方面的实验技术，包括发育、行为、解剖学和生理学以及下一代测序数据生成和分析。用于对帝王蝶进行功能遗传学研究的新工具正在开发中。结合帝王蝶自然历史和生态学的现有知识，该研究有望产生一个理解复杂性状进化的综合模型。探索迁徙的环境和遗传决定因素有望为帝王蝶保护策略提供重要的新见解。 该项目的一个主要目标是通过培训和指导本科生作为榜样，通过教育推广扩大代表性不足群体对生物学的参与。此外，一项旨在让高中生和中学生参与帝王蝶生物学研究的新颖试点计划正在制定中，以提供 STEM 科目的技术准备并促进以社区为中心的科学参与。该试点计划补充了目前为加强帝王蝶保护和了解帝王蝶的现有计划所做的努力，同时也为代表性不足的群体激发了对 STEM 领域的热情并取得成功。