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NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

2015 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

基本信息

批准号：
1523434
负责人：
Bradley Dickerson
金额：
$ 20.7万
依托单位：
Dickerson Bradley H
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：
2015-09-01 至 2018-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1523434&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship Biology FY

项目摘要

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Bradley Dickerson is ?The mechanics and control of a biological gyroscope." The host institution for this fellowship is the California Institute of Technology, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Michael Dickinson. The aerial agility of insects is remarkable, especially if considering the biomechanical and physiological challenges associated with their small size. In flies, these maneuvers are initiated by the visual system and ended by gyroscopic organs called halteres. The halteres are small, dumbbell-shaped structures located behind the forewings that are evolutionarily derived from the wings. Like the wings, the halteres are flapping structures contolled by a small set of muscles. However, while the importance of the halteres in flight control is long known, the role of these tiny steering muscles during flight maneuvers remains unclear. The research aims to discover the principles flies use to control motion of the haltere and in turn their aerial maneuvers. It promises to aid the development of micro air vehicles able to navigate complicated aerial environments. Through studying the expression of a genetically-encoded calcium sensor in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the Fellow is observing haltere steering muscle activity during tethered flight maneuvers. Newly developed computational techniques are being employed to reveal if muscle activation patterns reflect the muscles acting independently or in context-dependent groups. A more complete understanding of the haltere?s motor control from these experiments provides insight as to how insects can perform elegant behaviors using a limited set of muscles and expands our knowledge of the general principles of motor control. Moreover, the research addresses how hard-wired reflexes are modified by the nervous system to produce voluntary behaviors. The Fellow mentors and serves as a role model for African-American and other underrepresented undergraduate students. Further educational outreach includes presentations to school groups through the Caltech Classroom Connection, the use of online multimedia to disseminate a podcast discussing current topics in science, and the development of informal presentations targeted at teenage audiences.

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2015年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大参与。该奖学金支持该研究员在一个主办实验室的一项研究和培训计划，以及一项扩大科学界代表性不足群体参与的计划。布拉德利·迪克森奖学金的研究计划的题目是？生物陀螺仪的力学和控制。”这项奖学金的主办机构是加州理工学院，赞助科学家是迈克尔·狄金森博士。昆虫的空中敏捷性是显著的，特别是如果考虑到与它们的小尺寸相关的生物力学和生理挑战。在苍蝇中，这些动作由视觉系统发起，由被称为肢节的陀螺仪器官结束。笼头是位于前翼后面的小的哑铃状结构，从翅膀进化而来。和翅膀一样，笼头也是由一小部分肌肉控制的扇动结构。然而，尽管人们早就知道缰绳在飞行控制中的重要性，但这些微小的操纵肌肉在飞行机动中的作用仍不清楚。这项研究的目的是发现苍蝇用来控制头部运动的原理，进而进行空中机动。它有望帮助开发能够在复杂的空中环境中航行的微型飞行器。通过研究黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）中基因编码的钙传感器的表达，研究员正在观察系绳飞行时haltere转向肌的活动。新开发的计算技术被用来揭示肌肉激活模式是否反映了肌肉的独立行动或在上下文依赖组。对haltere有更全面的了解？从这些实验中获得的运动控制提供了关于昆虫如何使用有限的肌肉来执行优雅行为的见解，并扩展了我们对运动控制一般原理的了解。此外，该研究还探讨了神经系统是如何修改固有反射以产生自愿行为的。这些研究员为非裔美国人和其他代表性不足的本科生提供指导和榜样。进一步的教育推广包括通过加州理工学院课堂连接向学校团体进行演讲，使用在线多媒体传播讨论当前科学主题的播客，以及针对青少年观众的非正式演讲。