IGERT- Genetic Engineering and Society: The Case of Transgenic Pests

这一综合性研究生教育和研究培训(IGERT)奖项支持世界上第一个专门培训研究生理解、构建和评估转基因生物影响的研究生项目。最近，世界上第一次在野外释放了一种经过基因改造的蚊子，以抑制人类疾病的传播。关于这种释放的适当性有很大的争论，而且正在设计更复杂的转基因有害生物品系来实施农业有害生物和入侵物种的遗传有害生物管理(GPM)。这些进展引发了继续围绕转基因作物的辩论。鉴于这一遗产，GPM的未来很可能由社会动态和技术进步决定。智力优势：这一IGERT整合了不同的学科，但它通过研究GPM目标物种的一小部分来保持受训者的重点。通过一系列IGERT必修课程，包括在拉丁美洲举办的一门课程，所有学生都将接受包括分子生物学、种群遗传学、伦理学、传播学、经济学和生态学在内的核心跨学科培训。每个学生专攻一门学科，并撰写一篇论文，其中有一章或多章以目标物种为中心。更广泛的影响：这一IGERT将1)改进评估和引入新技术的方法，特别是在GPM目标众多的较贫穷国家；2)评估跨学科研究生教育的新模式；3)为生物和社会科学领域中代表性不足的群体的学生提供综合教育；以及4)为需要跨学科技能和对全球问题和文化的理解的职业培养博士学位。IGERT是一个NSF范围内的项目，旨在应对培养具有跨学科背景、所选学科的深厚知识以及满足未来职业需求所需的技术、专业和个人技能的美国博士科学家和工程师的挑战。该项目旨在通过建立创新的研究生教育和培训新模式，在超越传统学科界限的合作研究的肥沃环境中，催化研究生教育的文化变革。

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports the first graduate program in the world specifically training graduate students to understand, build, and assess impacts of transgenic organisms. The world recently witnessed the first open field release of a mosquito genetically engineered for suppressing transmission of a human disease. There is substantial debate regarding the appropriateness of this release and there are more complex transgenic pest strains being engineered for implementing Genetic Pest Management (GPM) of agricultural pests and invasive species. These developments evoke debates that continue to surround transgenic agricultural crops. Given this legacy, the future of GPM is likely to be determined by both social dynamics and technological advances. Intellectual Merit: This IGERT integrates diverse disciplines, but it maintains the focus of trainees by studying a small set of species that are targets for GPM. Through a series of required IGERT courses, including one held in Latin America, all students receive core transdisciplinary training encompassing molecular biology, population genetics, ethics, communication, economics, and ecology. Each student specializes in one discipline and develops a dissertation with one or more substantial chapters centered on a target species. Broader Impacts: This IGERT will 1) improve methodologies for assessing and introducing new technologies, especially in poorer nations where many pests targeted for GPM are located; 2) evaluate a novel model for transdisciplinary graduate education; 3) provide integrative education to students from underrepresented groups in areas across the biological and social sciences; and 4) prepare Ph.D.s for careers requiring interdisciplinary skills and an understanding of global issues and cultures. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.