NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

这一行动为2015财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，扩大了参与范围。该奖学金支持该研究员在东道主实验室的研究和培训计划，以及扩大科学界代表性不足群体的参与计划。罗杰·D·曾的这项研究计划的标题是“调查蓝藻必需基因的昼夜生物钟调节”。这项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·戈登和詹姆斯·W·戈登。生物上的24小时计时能力无处不在，可能是对可预测的日出和日落的适应。内源性生物钟赋予生物体这种共同的能力，即预测昼夜变化，并通过相应地调整基因活动来做出反应。了解生物钟是如何调节基因活动的很重要，因为生物钟失调会导致代谢失衡、细胞异常生长，甚至细胞死亡。光合作用的长聚球藻拥有最易驯化的生物钟，是研究生物钟如何调控基因的极佳模型。这项联谊会的研究重点是蓝藻的生物钟如何调节一组特殊的基因，即对细胞生存不可或缺的、在不杀死细胞的情况下很难操纵的“必要基因”。这位研究员正在开发一种新的方法，在不导致细胞死亡和确定生物计时的下游影响的情况下，操纵必要基因的基因活性。结果揭示了1)基本基因与时钟之间的遗传调控，2)基本基因的功能，因为其中许多是未知的，以及3)生物钟在控制基本基因活动时所赋予的进化优势。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筛选。圣地亚哥有几个军事基地，为退伍军人提供了一个绝佳的教育推广地点，加州大学圣地亚哥分校为退伍军人学生提供了完善的支持机制。其他教育活动包括建立一个本科生团队，参加国际基因工程机器(IGEM)生物学竞赛。

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.