Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2002

本行动为2002财年NSF少数民族博士后研究奖学金提供资金。该奖学金的目标是为少数族裔科学家在学术界和工业界担任科学领导职位做好准备。为了实现这一目标，该奖学金为最近的博士获得者提供了最高质量的博士后培训机会。这个项目是美国国家科学基金会的一项努力，旨在增加来自代表性不足的少数群体的研究科学家的数量，从而为国家科学事业的未来活力做出贡献。预期通过这些研究金培训的研究员将在培训未来劳动力方面发挥重要作用。这项研究和培训计划的题目是“通过味觉感官输入和饥饿状态控制昆虫的进食神经回路”。当它们以茄属植物为食时，由于味觉受体对宿主特异性识别提示的反应发生了变化，它们的幼虫成为宿主特异性的。如果没有这种提示，宿主特有的幼虫通常会饿死。目前正在进行电生理研究，以检查味觉受体生理和饥饿在宿主特异性和非特异性幼虫摄食回路中的整合。

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY2002. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare minority scientists for positions of scientific leadership in academia and industry. To attain this goal, the fellowship provides opportunities for postdoctoral training of the highest quality to recent doctoral recipients. This program is an effort by the NSF to increase the number of research scientists from underrepresented minority groups, thereby contributing to the future vitality of the Nation's scientific enterprise. It is expected that Fellows trained through these fellowships will play important roles in training of the future workforce.The research and training plan for this fellowship is entitled "Control of a feeding neural circuit in an inscet by taste sensory input and hunger status." Manduca sexta larvae become host-specific when they feed on solanaceous plants due to changes in taste receptor responses to a host-specific recognition cue. Host-specific larvae often starve to death if given food lacking this cue. Electrophysiological studies are being conducted to examine the integration of taste receptor physiology and hunger on the feeding circuitry of host-specific and non-specific larvae.