NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

2014 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1401729
• 负责人: Tanya Cheeke
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Cheeke Tanya
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-03-01 至 2017-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1401729&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in emerging areas where biology intersects with other scientific disciplines, in this case with mathematics and physical sciences. The Fellows are expected to be leaders of the nation's scientific workforce of the future. This fellowship to Tanya Cheeke supports a research and training plan that integrates microbial ecology and bioinformatics to characterize the role of soil microbes in the success or failure of native plant establishment in disturbed ecosystems. Understanding the fundamental differences in soil microbial communities in disturbed ecosystems is vitally important for informing restoration efforts, especially in areas such as prairies where plant-soil feedbacks have altered the native soil microbial community. The host institution for this fellowship is Indiana University and the sponsoring scientists are James Bever (Department of Biology) and Yuzhen Ye (School of Informatics and Computing). The fellowship provides for a unique collaboration to provide interdisciplinary research training for the Fellow. Educational outreach is directed to a diverse group of undergraduate students who will gain practical research skills in molecular biology and restoration ecology.This study tests novel methods of improving native plant establishment in disturbed ecosystems and has broad applications in conservation biology and restoration ecology. Specifically, the research evaluates the efficacy of re-introducing native soil organisms, for example, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, to improve native prairie plant establishment in tall fescue dominated grasslands. The overall goal is to understand the mechanisms that drive monotypic dominance in disturbed landscapes and to evaluate the role of plant-soil feedbacks in improving, maintaining, or limiting plant community diversity in disturbed systems. Research results are being shared with key stakeholders, including farmers, ranchers, conservationists, and policy makers through public lectures and by providing a research summary to local extension agents upon completion of the project.

NSF生物学博士后奖学金将研究和培训部分结合起来，为年轻科学家在新兴领域的职业生涯做好准备，在这些领域，生物学与其他科学学科交叉，在这种情况下，与数学和物理科学交叉。预计这些研究员将成为国家未来科学劳动力的领导者。与Tanya Cheeke的这项奖学金支持一项研究和培训计划，该计划整合了微生物生态学和生物信息学，以表征土壤微生物在受干扰的生态系统中本地植物建立的成败中所扮演的角色。了解受干扰生态系统中土壤微生物群落的基本差异对于指导恢复工作至关重要，特别是在植物-土壤反馈改变了本地土壤微生物群落的草原等地区。该奖学金的主办机构是印第安纳大学，赞助科学家是詹姆斯·贝弗(生物系)和叶玉珍(信息学与计算学院)。该奖学金提供了一种独特的合作，为研究员提供跨学科的研究培训。教育推广是针对不同的本科生群体，他们将获得在分子生物学和恢复生态学方面的实用研究技能。这项研究测试了在受干扰的生态系统中改进本地植物建立的新方法，并在保护生物学和恢复生态学中有广泛的应用。具体地说，这项研究评估了重新引入原生土壤生物，例如丛枝菌根真菌，在高羊茅为主的草原上改善原生草原植物建立的有效性。总体目标是了解在受干扰的景观中驱动单型优势度的机制，并评估植物-土壤反馈在改善、维持或限制受干扰系统中植物群落多样性方面的作用。正在通过公开讲座和在项目完成后向当地推广机构提供研究摘要，与包括农民、牧场主、自然资源保护者和政策制定者在内的主要利益攸关方分享研究成果。