NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011

2011 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1103767
• 负责人: Rori Rohlfs
• 金额: $ 18.9万
• 依托单位: Rohlfs Rori V
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2015-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1103767&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011, Intersections of Biology and Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow at the intersection of biology and statistics. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Rori Rohlfs is "Developing statistical tools to examine the evolution of gene expression." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of California, Berkeley, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Rasmus Nielsen and Sandrine Dudoit.The regulation of the degree to which a particular gene is used, called gene expression, has been proposed as an important mechanism explaining much of species diversity yet a rigorous statistical framework that models gene expression evolution has not yet been established. This research uses the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process to build a model of the evolution of gene expression. It takes into account the existing phylogeny, relationships between genes and between species, factors limiting constraints on gene expression, and an optimally fit expression level. After demonstrating the model's biological and statistical validity, the research uses a data set of mammalian gene expression, as measured with new RNA-Seq technology. Specific hypotheses regarding the evolution of gene expression levels in mammals are tested. For instance, based on the model, the likelihood ratio test determines if genes expressed in human brain are undergoing rapid expression adaptation along the human species lineage. A goal is to produce an open source software package of the model for broad use in studies of expression evolution across biological disciplines.Training goals include strengthening scientific collaborations and developing and distributing tools that will be accessible widely to the scientific community. Broader impacts include outreach to the public through collaborations with science media and public museums on the underlying causes of differences between species. Educational outreach includes designing and teaching a course at K-12 schools and community colleges.

这一行动为2011财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，生物学与数学和物理科学的交叉点。该研究金支持研究员在一个东道实验室从事生物学和统计学交叉领域的研究和培训计划。Rori Rohlfs的研究和培训计划的标题是“开发统计工具来研究基因表达的进化”。“该奖学金的主办机构是加州大学伯克利分校，赞助科学家是Rasmus Nielsen博士和Sandrine Dudoit博士。基因表达是一种重要的机制，可以解释物种多样性，但至今还没有建立一个严格的统计框架来模拟基因表达进化。 本研究使用Ornstein-Uhlenbeck过程来建立基因表达进化的模型。 它考虑了现有的遗传学，基因之间和物种之间的关系，限制基因表达的限制因素，以及最佳拟合的表达水平。 在证明了该模型的生物学和统计学有效性后，该研究使用了一组哺乳动物基因表达的数据集，这些数据是通过新的RNA-Seq技术测量的。具体假设在哺乳动物中的基因表达水平的演变进行了测试。 例如，基于该模型，似然比检验确定在人脑中表达的基因是否沿着人类物种谱系经历快速表达适应沿着。 目标之一是制作一个该模型的开放源码软件包，广泛用于跨生物学科的表达进化研究，培训目标包括加强科学合作，开发和分发科学界广泛使用的工具。 更广泛的影响包括通过与科学媒体和公共博物馆合作向公众宣传物种之间差异的根本原因。 教育推广包括在K-12学校和社区学院设计和教授课程。