NRT-HDR: Intersecting computational and data science to address grand challenges in plant biology

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Plants are indispensable for life on earth, providing food, energy, and oxygen, as well as the basis for many man-made products. A better understanding of plant science will lead to more secure plant resources, which is even more important given the rapidly increasing global population. Genomics research has significantly advanced our understanding about how plants function, with the application of genomics yielding datasets that could revolutionize plant science and lead to safe, reliable, and sustainable production of food and biofuels. To achieve these outcomes, there is a critical need for scientists with both an understanding of plant biology and computational skills. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Michigan State University will address this demand by training doctoral students who can employ advanced computational and data science approaches to address grand challenges in plant biology. The project anticipates training approximately seventy (70) PhD students, including thirty-eight (38) funded trainees from plant biology and computational data science programs. Trainees will engage in research and coursework that emphasize tackling "grand challenge" questions in plant biology by leveraging computational approaches. Training will go beyond the traditional genomics and bioinformatics approaches in plant biology to include the advanced training in computation and modeling required to handle increasingly heterogeneous, multi-scale data from the molecular to ecosystem levels. This type of training will allow students to tackle complex questions such as investigating genotype-phenotype relationships across the Plant Tree of Life or machine learning for high-dimensional plant data. In addition, the traineeship features professional development opportunities, outreach activities, and industry/governmental internships that serve to broaden trainees' career options while also improving their ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences. Upon completion of the training program, trainees will have a core understanding of plant and computational sciences, excel in interdisciplinary biological and computational research, and possess effective communication, leadership, management, teaching, and mentoring skills. Trainees will be co-advised by experts in plant science and computational/data science. To accomplish the training goals, trainees will participate in a program consisting of: (1) curricular and research activities that will create a cohort of trainees with dual expertise in computational sciences and plant biology, (2) a biweekly forum to encourage scientific interactions, (3) a trainee-led annual symposium that engages a wider scientific audience and builds organizational and leadership skills, (4) internship opportunities in industry and government agencies, (5) professional development activities tailored to individual career goals, including entrepreneurship, and (6) public engagement through outreach activities, further bolstering the ability of trainees to communicate with a wide range of audiences. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.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.