NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

这项行动为2015财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大参与。该研究金支持研究员在东道实验室的研究和培训计划，以及扩大在科学领域代表性不足的群体参与的计划。 这个奖学金的研究计划的标题是罗杰D。Tseng是“调查蓝藻中必需基因的昼夜节律钟调节。"该奖学金的主办机构是加州大学圣地亚哥分校，赞助科学家是苏珊·S。作者声明：James W.黄金。生物学上，将时间按24小时的时间表来安排的能力是普遍存在的，这可能是对可预测的日出和日落的一种适应。内源性生物钟赋予生物体这种共同的能力，以预测白天/黑夜的变化，并通过相应地调整基因活动作出反应。了解生物钟如何调节基因活动很重要，因为生物钟功能障碍会导致代谢失衡，细胞生长异常，甚至细胞死亡。光合蓝细菌细长聚球藻（Synechococcus elongatus）拥有最易处理的生物钟，是研究生物钟如何调节基因的极好模型。研究重点是蓝藻的生物钟如何调节一组称为“必需基因”的特殊基因，这些基因是细胞生存不可或缺的，并且很难在不杀死细胞的情况下进行操纵。该研究员正在开发一种新的方法来操纵必要基因的基因活性，而不诱导细胞死亡，并确定对生物定时的下游影响。结果有望深入了解1）必需基因和时钟之间的遗传调控，2）必需基因的功能，因为其中许多是未知的，3）生物钟在控制必需基因活性时赋予的进化优势。培训目标包括下一代基因组编辑，细菌遗传学，全细胞基因表达分析和高通量突变体筛选。圣地亚哥提供了一个很好的位置，教育推广到退伍军人与其几个军事基地，和UCSD有完善的支持机制，为学生谁是退伍军人。其他教育推广活动包括建立一个本科生团队参加国际遗传工程机器（iGEM）生物竞赛。

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 Roger D. Tseng is "Investigating circadian clock regulation of essential genes in cyanobacteria." The host institution for this fellowship is University of California, San Diego, and the sponsoring scientists are Susan S. Golden and James W. Golden.The biological ability to keep time on a 24-hour schedule is ubiquitous, perhaps arising as an adaptation to predictable sunrise and sunset. An endogenous circadian clock endows organisms with this shared ability to anticipate day/night changes and respond by adjusting gene activities accordingly. Understanding how the biological clock regulates gene activities is important because clock dysfunction can lead to metabolic imbalance, abnormal cell growth, and even cell death. The photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus harbors the most tractable circadian clock and is an excellent model to study how the clock regulates genes. The fellowship research focuses on how the biological clock of cyanobacteria regulates a special group of genes called "essential genes" that are indispensable for cell survival and are difficult to manipulate without killing the cell. The Fellow is developing a new method to manipulate gene activity of the essential genes without inducing cell death and determining the downstream effects on biological timing. Results promise insights into 1) the genetic regulation between essential genes and the clock, 2) functions of the essential genes as many of them are unknown, and 3) evolutionary advantages conferred by the circadian clock when controlling essential gene activity. Training goals include next-generation genome editing, bacterial genetics, whole-cell gene expression analysis, and high-throughput mutant screening. San Diego provides an excellent location for educational outreach to veterans with its several military bases, and UCSD has well-established support mechanisms for students who are military veterans. Other educational outreach includes establishing an undergraduate team to participate in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) biology competition.