NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2016

该行动为2016财年美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大生物学中代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训计划，以开发新的基于细胞的生物传感器，并增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。泰勒莉亚·N.G.亚当斯的研究计划的标题是“神经谱系细胞的新型分离，以确定祖细胞的特征。”这项奖学金的主办机构是加州大学欧文分校，赞助科学家是丽莎·弗拉纳根博士。本项目的目标是利用多频电介质电泳（DEP）系统对神经干细胞祖细胞进行分类和表征，该系统利用电场诱导基于细胞固有特性的细胞运动。更具体地说，该研究员正在创建一个DEP微设备，根据膜电容的差异分离不同的祖细胞，并使用生物测定来确定影响膜电容的关键细胞分子。在中枢神经系统中，神经干细胞形成专门的神经元、星形胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞，它们共同形成传递信息的神经网络。神经干细胞面临的一个挑战是，人们对它们从干细胞到不同祖细胞，再到形成最终特化细胞的过程知之甚少。Dielectrophoresis是一种依靠电场来研究细胞的技术，它通过提供细胞膜电容的信息提供了一种解决方案，这种信息可用于识别将形成星形胶质细胞和神经元的祖细胞。然而，影响膜电容的分子成分还没有得到很好的研究。该研究员的研究是使细胞表面分子的表征成为可能，这些分子调节神经干细胞是成为星形胶质细胞还是成为神经元。他的研究填补了一个科学空白，从生物功能/特性的角度解释了膜电容，从而连接了两个不同的领域——细胞生物学和化学工程。最终，该研究员的研究有助于揭示这些细胞的重要差异，并阐明在大脑和脊髓形成过程中控制细胞生成的过程。该研究员正在接受跨学科能力的培训，将生物学和工程学结合起来，并通过增加STEM中的少数民族来扩大代表性不足的群体的参与。研究员的培训包括负责任的研究培训、职业咨询和专业网络。该研究员认识到学术界支持少数族裔学生项目的重要性，正在与一个课后项目Girls Inc.合作，以扩大参与。作为这项努力的一部分，研究员正在为5-12年级的女孩提供旨在探索器官结构和功能的生物科学课程。该研究员的贡献包括课程开发、合作教学以及实施奖学金/实习申请组件，以向学生介绍STEM机会。对于这个项目中的女孩来说，研究员正在加强一个积极的学习环境，建立信心，并建立对科学和工程的归属感。

Postdoctoral Fellow: Tayloria AdamsProposal Number: 1612261This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2016, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow to develop novel cell-based biosensors and increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Tayloria N.G. Adams is "Novel separation of neural lineage cells to determine progenitor cell characteristics." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of California-Irvine and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Lisa Flanagan.The goal of this project is to sort and characterize neural stem progenitor cells with a multiple frequency dielectrophoresis (DEP) system, which employs electric fields to induce cell motion based on intrinsic cell properties. More specifically, the Fellow is creating a DEP microdevice to isolate distinct progenitor cells based on their differences in membrane capacitance and using biological assays to determine the critical cell molecules contributing to membrane capacitance. In the central nervous system, neural stem cells form specialized neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes that work together to form neural networks that transmit information. A challenge with neural stem cells is that little is known about their transition from stem cells to distinct progenitor cells on their way to forming final specialized cells. Dielectrophoresis, a technology that relies on electric fields to study cells, offers a solution by providing information about cell's membrane capacitance, which can be used to identify progenitors that will form astrocytes and neurons. However, the molecular components that contribute to membrane capacitance are not well studied. The Fellow's research is enabling the characterization of cell surface molecules that regulate whether a neural stem cell becomes an astrocyte versus a neuron. The Fellow's research fills a scientific gap by explaining membrane capacitance in terms of biological function/characteristics, thereby bridging two disparate fields - cell biology and chemical engineering. Ultimately, the Fellow's studies are helping to uncover important differences in these cells and shed light on the processes that control cell generation during brain and spinal cord formation.The Fellow is being trained in an interdisciplinary capacity, merging biology and engineering, and is broadening participation of underrepresented groups by increasing minorities in STEM. The Fellow's training includes responsible conduct of research training, career counseling, and professional networking. The Fellow, recognizing the importance of support programs for minority students in academia, is working with an afterschool program, Girls Inc., to broaden participation. As part of this effort, the Fellow is providing girls in grades 5-12 with a biological sciences curriculum designed to explore organ structure and function. The Fellow's contributions include curriculum development, co-teaching, and implementing scholarship/internship application components to introduce students to STEM opportunities. For the girls in this program, the Fellow is reinforcing a positive learning environment, building confidence, and establishing a sense of belonging in science and engineering.