NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

NSF生物学博士后奖学金将研究和培训相结合，为年轻科学家在生物学与其他科学学科交叉的新兴领域的职业生涯做好准备，在这种情况下，控制理论是数学和工程学的一个分支。预计这些研究员将领导美国未来的科学队伍。路易斯·扎曼的奖学金支持进化论理论方面的研究和培训，并寻求回答这个问题：复杂的生态学会导致简单的进化吗？主办机构是华盛顿大学，赞助科学家是dr。本·科尔和埃里克·克拉文斯。培训目标包括使用和发展受控制理论启发的理论工具来预测生态网络内部和生态网络的进化。教育和公众推广活动包括博物馆、华盛顿大学的奇卡诺和美洲原住民科学促进协会（SACNAS）分会，以及“科学酒吧”（Science bars），这是一个科学家与公众进行随意科学对话的项目。创新的实验室和实地研究已经将进化生物学转变为一门学科，在这门学科中，进化假设可以通过实验实时验证。然而，由于进化的随机性，准确的预测是难以捉摸的。更糟糕的是，自然界的进化发生在复杂的相互作用网络中（达尔文的“纠结的河岸”）。理论家们在将复杂性——尤其是生态复杂性——纳入进化和共同进化模型方面取得了实质性进展。另一方面，实验生物学家经常尽可能地消除复杂性，以期分离出他们操作的影响。本研究通过研究生态复杂性对进化可预测性的影响，弥合了经验进化与理论进化之间的差距。通过建模做出的预测正在通过细菌噬菌体群落的实验进化进行测试和完善。

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 control theory, a branch of mathematics and engineering. The Fellows are expected to lead the nation's scientific workforce of the future. This fellowship to Luis Zaman supports research and training on theoretical aspects of evolution and seeks to answer the question: Does complex ecology lead to simple evolution? The host institution is the University of Washington, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Ben Kerr and Eric Klavins. Training goals include the use and development of theoretical tools inspired by control theory to predict evolution within, and of, ecological networks. Educational and public outreach includes museums, the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) chapter at the University of Washington, and `Science Pubs,` a program in which scientists engage in casual scientific conversations with the public. Innovative laboratory and field studies have transformed evolutionary biology into a discipline in which evolutionary hypotheses can be tested experimentally in real time. However, because of the stochastic nature of evolution, accurate predictions are elusive. To make matters worse, evolution in nature occurs within complex interaction networks (Darwin`s `tangled bank`). Theoreticians have made substantial progress incorporating complexity - especially ecological complexity - into models of evolution and coevolution. On the other hand, experimental biologists often eliminate as much complexity as possible in hopes of isolating the effects of their manipulations. This research bridges the gap between empirical and theoretical evolution by studying the effects of ecological complexity on evolutionary predictability. Predictions being made through modeling are being tested and refined though experimental evolution with bacteria-phage communities.