Collaborative Research: Formation of a High Flux Student Research Network (HF-SRN) as a Laboratory for Enhancing Interaction in the PoLS SRN

NSF生命系统物理学(POLS)学生研究网络(SRN)致力于将美国和国际上不同机构(节点)从事物理和生物学研究的学生和教职员工团结在一起。一个运行良好的虚拟网络可以使本地节点的学生能够利用POL的全球教育和研究机会。POLS是一个多元化的领域，由来自不同背景的研究人员和学生组成。没有一所院校能够提供(1)研究的广度和深度，以及(2)既涵盖相关知识领域又为学生提供深入培训的课程。这样的培训对于培养能够对生物物理学做出定量贡献、能够在生物、物理、数学和工程学之间流动的下一代研究人员至关重要；POLS的学生在这一代中扮演着重要的角色。此外，没有一家机构拥有在生物系统中遇到的巨大时间和长度范围内研究极点所需的设备范围。最后，很少有单独的机构能够有效地将科学和工程结合起来，以启发生物医学、机器人和假肢设备，这些设备将产生于基础POL研究。HF-SRN将为学生创造一个环境，在这个环境中，他们可以在不同学科之间工作，同时保持物理思维模式(简化的系统，很少的参数预测模型)并开发新的物理。这个网络将训练学生(引用菲利普·纳尔逊在他2008年的生物物理教科书中的话)“他们可以在两种大脑之间流畅地切换：‘发展/历史/复杂’科学和‘普遍/非历史/还原论者’。”随着HF-SRN内部的重大合作和教育交流的发展，成功的活动将扩大到美国的其他节点(最终期望与Pols SRN的国际合作伙伴接洽)。该评估计划将有助于指导HF-SRN的各个方面，这些方面可能会增加NSF跨越虚拟研究所的科学倡议中其他项目的流量。更广泛地说，Pols SRN的学生可以成为将生物学和物理研究无缝结合的下一代研究人员的领导者。这些学生将创造材料，为未来的K-12课程和大学Pols课程提供种子。将努力将在HF-SRN(和整个SRN)内开展的教育和研究努力扩展到更广泛的社区，包括当地为少数群体服务的机构。在POS方面的进步可以导致诸如基因组编辑、癌症动力学、机器人和人类辅助设备等应用的进步。在作为SRN的一部分的最后一段时间的资助期间，佐治亚理工学院、哈佛大学和马里兰节点推进了各自的POS计划，发展了具有凝聚力的当地社区。该项目的目标是为学生(和他们的想法)进一步发展机会，以便更容易地在SRN内“流动”，从而发现可以转移到更大的SRN中的增加的人际网络流量的工作原理。为此，将在现有的三个SRN节点(将Emory作为佐治亚理工学院的分包合同)之间发展重要的相互作用(以及对这些相互作用的评估)，形成一个“高流量SRN”(HF-SRN)。HF-SRN将参与以下活动：1)以协作为重点的研究项目，该项目跨越多个节点，并通过利用学生和教师在当前项目中的专业知识来“构建成功”；2)由学生领导的动态工作组(例如，在生物分子、微生物、细胞和生物物理学方面)利用教师的研究优势和学生的兴趣，为这些主题发展跨节点社区。3)学生主导的训练营：2-3天的密集教程(如显微镜、机器人物理学、图像分析)，具有跨小组切割主题，向HF-SRN成员开放，在特定节点举行；4)学生主导的讲习班：由演讲、海报和讨论组成，邀请整个POLS SRN；5)通过开源课程材料开发课程，整合节点之间的互补专业知识。所有活动都将由每个节点的牵头个人投资机构组成的理事会进行评价和评估。该项目由物理学部的生命系统物理学计划、分子和细胞生物科学部的分子生物物理学计划和综合组织系统部的调制计划共同支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The NSF Physics of Living Systems (PoLS) Student Research Network (SRN) strives to unite students and faculty working at the interface of physics and biology at different institutions ("nodes") within the US and internationally. A well functioning virtual network could give students at local nodes the ability to take advantage of global educational and research opportunities in PoLS. PoLS is a diverse field, and is composed of researchers and students from varied backgrounds. No single institution can offer (1) the breadth and depth of research and (2) courses that both cover the relevant intellectual landscape and provide in-depth training for students. Such training is critical to create the next generation of researchers who can contribute quantitatively to biophysics, with the ability to move between biology, physics, mathematics, and engineering; PoLS students have important roles to play in this next generation. In addition, no single institution has the range of equipment needed to study PoLS on the enormous range of time and length scales encountered in biological systems. Finally, few single institutions can fruitfully integrate science and engineering to inspire biomedical, robotic and prosthetic devices that will result from basic PoLS research. The HF-SRN will create an environment for students in which they can work among various disciplines while maintaining the physics mindset (simplified systems, few parameter predictive models) and developing new physics. This network will train students (paraphrasing Philip Nelson in his 2008 Biological Physics textbook) "who can switch fluidly between both kinds of brain: the `developmental/historical/complex' sciences and the 'universal/ahistorical/reductionist'." As significant collaborative and educational flux develops within the HF-SRN, successful activities will be broadened to the other US nodes (ultimately with the expectation to engage PoLS SRN international partners). The evaluation plan will help guide aspects of the HF-SRN that could increase flux in other programs in the NSF Science Across Virtual Institutes initiative. More broadly, PoLS SRN students can be leaders in the next generation of researchers who blend biology and physics research seamlessly. Such students will create materials which will seed future K-12 as well as university PoLS curricula. Efforts will be made to extend the educational and research efforts developed within the HF-SRN (and entire SRN) to a broader community including local minority serving institutions. Advances in PoLS can lead to advances in applications such as genome editing, cancer dynamics, robotics and human-assist devices, among others.During the last period of funding as part of the SRN, the Georgia Tech, Harvard and Maryland nodes have advanced their respective PoLS programs, developing cohesive local communities. The goal of this project is to further develop opportunities for students (and their ideas) to "flow" more easily within the SRN and thereby discover working principles of increased human network flux that can be transferred into the larger SRN. To do so, significant interactions (and evaluations of those interactions) will be developed among three existing SRN nodes (adding Emory as a subcontract to Georgia Tech), forming a "High Flux SRN" (HF-SRN). The HF-SRN will engage in activities such as 1) Collaborative Focused Research Projects, which span nodes and are "built to succeed" by leveraging student and faculty expertise in current projects; 2) Student-Led Dynamic Working Groups (e.g., in biomolecular, microbial, cellular and organismal physics) leveraging faculty research strengths and student interest to develop cross-node communities for these topics. 3) Student-Led Bootcamps: intense 2-3 day tutorials (e.g., microscopy, robophysics, image analysis) with cross-subgroup cutting themes, open to HF-SRN members and held at a particular node; 4) Student-Led Workshops: composed of talks, poster and discussion sessions, inviting the entire PoLS SRN; 5) Curriculum development via open-source course materials, integrating complementary expertise across nodes. All activities will be evaluated and assessed by a Council composed of the lead PIs at each node. This project is being jointly supported by the Physics of Living Systems program in the Division of Physics, the Molecular Biophysics Program in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, and the Modulation Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.