Doctoral Dissertation Research: Degeneration in Miniature: History of Cell Death and Aging Research in the Twentieth Century

博士论文研究：微型退化：二十世纪细胞死亡与衰老研究的历史

• 批准号: 1257063
• 负责人: Jane Maienschein
• 金额: $ 1.22万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-03-15 至 2013-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1257063&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Degeneration; Miniature

IntroductionThis doctoral dissertation improvement grant supports an investigation in the history of cell degeneration research. The dissertation focuses on four historical episodes from the 1930s to 1990s. The first three episodes are largely written in draft form. This grant will support research on the fourth historical episode documenting H. Robert Horvitz's study of cell death in the nematode C. elegans from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Horvitz, a molecular biologist, shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two others. This current proposal requests funding mostly for archival visits and interviews to characterize the fourth historical episode through the early 1990s when Horvitz represented cell death as a specific cellular state of differentiation caused by a network of gene expressions. This development opened the door for future genomic approaches to cell death, aging as well as cancer research through studying the model organism C. elegans.Intellectual Merits The specific study supported by this grant and the encompassing dissertation research will serve to provide an analytical account of the emergence of diverse meanings of cell degeneration, such as being a protector of health, a sculptor for development, and a limitation of lifespan, in the contexts of these research programs and broader biomedical concerns. The study will contribute to deeper understandings of the complex history of biomedical research including insights about scientific practice and connections with broader historical backdrops and consequences. The study will also contribute to discussions in history and philosophy of science and science studies on the roles of new biological material, research styles, and priorities in the modern development of biology, especially with the intricate interplay between changing experimental systems and concepts of cell degeneration these systems embodied.Broader Impacts History of science projects that contextualize and problematize current knowledge and research programs on a particular topic, in this case cell degeneration, are of substantial interest to scientists in the field (cell biology) and related fields (such as molecular biology, physiology, cancer research, and research on aging). In addition, the results of this project are to be communicated to the public through the online encyclopedia of embryology, the Embryo Project, through an online virtual exhibition about history of biology of aging at the Marine Biological Laboratory Repository, and through a prize-winning podcast by Chemical Heritage Foundation, Distillations.

IntroductionThis博士论文改进补助金支持在细胞变性研究的历史调查。本论文以20世纪30年代至90年代的四个历史事件为研究对象。前三集主要是以草稿的形式写的。这笔赠款将支持对第四个历史插曲记录H。罗伯特·霍维茨对线虫C.从20世纪70年代末到90年代初。霍维茨是一位分子生物学家，他与另外两人分享了2002年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。目前的提案主要要求资助档案访问和采访，以描述20世纪90年代初的第四个历史事件，当时Horvitz将细胞死亡描述为由基因表达网络引起的特定细胞分化状态。这一发展为未来通过研究模式生物C.这项资助支持的具体研究和包含的论文研究将有助于提供细胞变性的不同含义的出现的分析说明，例如作为健康的保护者，发展的雕塑家和寿命的限制，在这些研究计划和更广泛的生物医学关注的背景下。这项研究将有助于更深入地了解生物医学研究的复杂历史，包括对科学实践的见解以及与更广泛的历史背景和后果的联系。这项研究还将有助于科学史和科学哲学的讨论，探讨新生物材料的作用，研究风格和生物学现代发展的优先事项，特别是随着不断变化的实验系统和这些系统所体现的细胞退化的概念之间的复杂相互作用。更广泛的影响科学项目的历史，特定的主题，在这种情况下是细胞变性，是该领域（细胞生物学）和相关领域（例如分子生物学、生理学、癌症研究和衰老研究）的科学家非常感兴趣的。此外，该项目的成果将通过胚胎学在线百科全书胚胎项目，通过海洋生物实验室储存库关于衰老生物学历史的在线虚拟展览以及通过化学遗产基金会获奖播客蒸馏向公众传播。