NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Australia

这项行动资助康涅狄格大学的托马斯海德在2013年夏天在澳大利亚墨尔本的墨尔本大学进行生物科学研究项目。 该项目的名称是“Wallaries：启动tammar wallaby基因组数据库。主持人是Marilyn Renfree.A教授，基因组学的一个关键挑战是区分DNA中对发育和疾病至关重要的区域和那些无功能的区域。基因组学界正在迅速认识到有袋动物比较遗传学在这项任务中的作用。借助广泛的发育和生理数据，tammar小袋鼠已被证明有助于研究哺乳动物中保守的发育过程。为了使这些信息更容易被研究人员获取，该项目创建了基因组数据库Wallet。Wallenstein降低了阻止更广泛的科学界利用有袋动物破译人类基因组的障碍。特别是，研究人员试图确定新的抗菌剂，那些在乳制品行业和临床医生利用独特的发展wallaby将大大受益于信息的可访问性wallaby. EAPSI奖学金的更广泛的影响包括提供研究员在美国以外的第一手研究经验;介绍各自所在地的科学，科学政策和科学基础设施;以及社会，文化和语言的方向。 这些活动符合NSF的目标，即在科学家，工程师和教育工作者的职业生涯早期进行国际合作教育，从而确保具有全球意识的美国科学工作者。 此外，还将增加关于小袋鼠的部分，教育公众在研究中使用小袋鼠以及比较研究的重要性。

This action funds Thomas Heider of the University of Connecticut to conduct a research project in Biological Sciences during the summer of 2013 at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne Australia. The project title is "Wallabase: Jump starting the tammar wallaby genome database." The host scientist is Professor Marilyn Renfree.A key challenge in genomics is distinguishing the regions of DNA that are essential for development and disease from those that are nonfunctional. The genomics community is rapidly coming to appreciate the power of marsupial comparative genetics for this task. Aided by extensive developmental and physiological data, the tammar wallaby has proven instrumental for the study of developmental processes that are conserved among mammals. To make this information more accessible to researchers, this project creates the genome database, Wallabase. Wallabase lowers the barriers that prevent the broader scientific community from utilizing marsupials in deciphering the human genome. In particular, researchers trying to identify novel antimicrobials, those in the dairy industry and clinicians utilizing the unique development of the wallaby will greatly benefit from the accessibility of the information on Wallabase.Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, there will be additional sections on Wallabase that will educate the general public about the use of wallabies in research and about the importance of comparative studies.