NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: From helical fibers to vortical flow: unravelling the contributions of muscle geometry and physiology to swimming performance

NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：从螺旋纤维到涡流：揭示肌肉几何形状和生理学对游泳表现的贡献

基本信息

批准号：
2208916
负责人：
Yordano Jimenez
金额：
$ 13.8万
依托单位：
Jimenez, Yordano Eleazar
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Fellowship Award
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2022-08-01 至 2024-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2208916&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship Biology helical

项目摘要

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The goal of the Fellow’s research is to understand how animal movement is affected by small differences in muscle anatomy. This research project begins with a simple observation: bending from side to side is the oldest and most common form of vertebrate locomotion. Nearly all fishes swim by bending their bodies back and forth. For most vertebrates, in fact, to move is to bend. However, animals that use body bending are subject to a biomechanical constraint: as muscles flex the spine, muscle tissue deforms unevenly. Muscle close to the spine only shortens a little, and muscle far from the spine shortens a lot, and neither of these are optimal. This uneven muscle deformation risks sabotaging locomotor performance. This research seeks to determine whether body-bending vertebrates may have evolved specialized muscle fiber geometries to solve this biomechanical problem. To answer these questions, the Fellow will use multiple cutting-edge approaches to analyze and model fish motion in water. To increase participation in STEM, the Fellow will serve in leadership roles in the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans (SACNAS). To determine how vertebrates have solved the biomechanical problem of bending, the Fellow is conducting two studies examining fish and their geometrically complex axial musculature. The work will involve multiple approaches including 3D modelling, in vitro muscle physiology, and particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) to measure patterns of water flow. The first study measures body curvature, muscle activity, and fluid flow in largemouth bass swimming at different speeds. The second study uses a classic technique called a “work loop” to measure contractile performance for muscle fiber bundles with different fiber geometries, as calculated using a 3D mathematical model and 3D measurements of muscle fiber angle. The data from these experiments will be combined to generate a spatial quantitative map of internal muscular forces and external hydrodynamic forces. These results will determine if the complex helical fiber geometry of fish muscles solves the bending problem. This research will also expand the understanding of how force generated within muscles is transmitted into the water, and whether fish shift strategies at different swimming speeds. For long-term career development, the Fellow is being trained in student mentorship and lab management. To broaden participation of underrepresented minorities, the Fellow will participate in leadership programs offered by SACNAS and will also participate in outreach at the Museum of Science in Boston.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该行动资助 2022 财年 NSF 生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。该奖学金支持该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究项目的目的是了解肌肉解剖结构的微小差异如何影响动物的运动：从一侧弯曲到另一侧是脊椎动物最古老和最常见的形式。事实上，几乎所有鱼类都通过前后弯曲身体来游泳，但是，使用身体弯曲的动物会受到生物力学的限制：当肌肉弯曲脊柱时，肌肉组织就会变形。靠近脊柱的肌肉仅缩短一点，而远离脊柱的肌肉则缩短很多，这种不均匀的肌肉变形可能会破坏运动性能。为了确定身体弯曲的脊椎动物是否可能进化出特殊的肌肉纤维几何形状来解决这个生物力学问题，为了回答这些问题，研究员将使用多种尖端方法来分析和模拟鱼类在水中的运动，以增加对 STEM 的参与。研究员将在奇卡诺人和美洲原住民促进协会 (SACNAS) 中担任领导职务为了确定脊椎动物如何解决弯曲的生物力学问题，该研究员正在进行两项研究，检查鱼类及其鱼类。这项工作将涉及多种方法，包括 3D 建模、体外肌肉生理学和粒子成像测速 (PIV) 来测量大口黑鲈的身体曲率、肌肉活动和流体流动。第二项研究使用一种称为“工作循环”的经典技术来测量具有不同纤维几何形状的肌纤维束的收缩性能，并使用 3D 数学模型和 3D 测量进行计算。这些实验的数据将结合起来生成内部肌肉力和外部定量水动力的空间图，这些结果将确定鱼肌肉的复杂螺旋纤维几何结构是否可以解决弯曲问题。了解肌肉内产生的力如何传递到水中，以及鱼类是否会以不同的游泳速度改变策略。为了长期职业发展，该研究员正在接受学生指导和实验室管理方面的培训，以扩大代表性不足的少数群体的参与。该研究员将参加提供的领导力课程该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。