NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

2015 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1523788
• 负责人: Phillip Barden
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Barden Phillip M
• 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 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1523788&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

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 Phillip Barden is "Utilizing fossils in the age of genomes: a case study of ants and amber." The host institution for this fellowship is Rutgers University-Newark, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Jessica Ware. As the cost and difficulty of generating molecular (DNA) data decreases, new questions are emerging regarding the role of paleontological information in the "age of genomes." While massive DNA-based datasets offer unprecedented insight into the history of life on Earth, fossils can provide otherwise unknowable details related to evolutionary timing, ancient morphology, and biogeography. The fellowship research seeks to evaluate the utility of fossils in large-scale molecular datasets through the lens of one of nature's greatest success stories. Today, ants comprise over 13,000 highly social, diverse, and ecologically impactful species found across terrestrial vegetated landscapes worldwide - but this was not always the case. The fossil record suggests that ants were a relatively minor component of arthropod fauna until approximately 50 million years ago. In addition, paleontological evidence, particularly amber fossil deposits, suggests that many of the earliest ants were distinct from their modern relatives and ultimately doomed to extinction. What drove some lineages to extinction while others led to modern levels of diversity and prevalence? Why did prevalence remain low for so long? Paleontological data are being derived from newly discovered fossils from approximately 100 to 50 million years ago, as well as numerous species known from other key moments in ant diversification and extinction. High throughput DNA sequencing is being utilized as a cost-effective method for obtaining large amounts of molecular data for living species. Combined analyses of molecular and morphological data provide a foundation for testing hypotheses relating to the history of ants, as well as a case study for incorporating fossil and large-scale molecular datasets. Ants are an emerging model system for research ranging from artificial intelligence to the study of aging and gene networks, and genome-scale molecular datasets are generated for numerous other organismal groups with rich fossil histories. Training goals include gaining expertise in molecular sequencing and bioinformatics to compliment previous training in paleontology and systematics. Educational outreach at Rutgers University-Newark, recognized as one of the most diverse national universities in the United States, includes serving as a role model and mentoring high school and undergraduate students in fossil description, molecular sequencing, and analysis to generate excitement and encouragement for scientific research among underrepresented groups.

该行动为2015财年生物学生物学奖学金提供了一项NSF博士后研究奖学金，扩大了参与。奖学金支持该研究员的主持人实验室的研究和培训计划，并计划扩大人数不足的科学团体的参与。 菲利普·巴登（Phillip Barden）的研究计划的标题是“利用基因组时代的化石：蚂蚁和琥珀色的案例研究”。该奖学金的主办机构是罗格斯大学 - 纽瓦克大学，赞助科学家是杰西卡·韦尔博士。随着产生分子（DNA）数据的成本和困难降低，关于古生物学信息在“基因组时代”中的作用的新问题正在出现。尽管基于DNA的大规模数据集提供了对地球生命史的前所未有的见解，但化石可以提供与进化时机，古代形态和生物地理学有关的原本知识细节。奖学金研究旨在通过大自然最大的成功案例之一的镜头评估化石在大型分子数据集中的实用性。如今，蚂蚁构成了13,000多种在全球陆地植被景观中发现的高度社交，多样化和生态影响的物种 - 但并非总是如此。化石记录表明，直到大约5000万年前，蚂蚁是节肢动物动物区系的相对较小的组成部分。此外，古生物学证据，尤其是琥珀化石沉积物，表明许多最早的蚂蚁与其现代亲戚不同，最终注定要灭绝。是什么驱动了一些血统灭绝，而另一些则导致了现代的多样性和流行率？为什么流行率这么长？古生物学数据来自于大约100万年前的新发现的化石，以及从蚂蚁多样化和灭绝的其他关键时刻所知的许多物种。高吞吐量DNA测序被用作一种具有成本效益的方法，用于获得大量生物物种的分子数据。分子和形态学数据的组合分析为测试与蚂蚁史有关的假设以及纳入化石和大型分子数据集的案例研究提供了基础。蚂蚁是一种新兴模型系统，用于从人工智能到衰老和基因网络的研究，基因组规模的分子数据集是针对许多其他具有丰富化石历史的有机体生成的。培训目标包括获得分子测序和生物信息学方面的专业知识，以补充先前的古生物学和系统学培训。 罗格斯大学 - 纽瓦克的教育宣传是美国最多样化的国家大学之一，包括作为榜样，并指导化石描述，分子测序和分析以引起兴奋和鼓励科学研究的高中和本科生。