NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Broadening participation of Native Americans in STEM fields by investigating pulmonary adaptations among marine mammals

这一行动资助了2020财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学领域代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。这项研究项目的主要目标是利用医学成像和流体动力学模拟来研究海洋哺乳动物的肺是如何适应海洋生物的。许多海洋哺乳动物在水面上完全空虚并迅速填满它们巨大的肺，迅速地输送大量的空气。在潜水过程中，他们的肺必须抵抗高压，或者塌陷并在表面重新充气，而不会受伤。肺形态的改变可能改变气体混合和血-气交换。这些研究将提供对海洋哺乳动物进化以及肺结构和功能的见解，从而推动呼吸液模拟的进展。这位研究员将利用沿海撒利什人和海洋哺乳动物之间的文化联系来扩大工作的影响。更广泛的参与活动包括接触沿海Salish社区，在夏令营和导师计划中展示科学，以增加美洲原住民学生在STEM的兴趣和留存。这位研究员将使用计算机断层扫描、计算流体力学和示踪成像来表征海洋哺乳动物肺的结构和功能。具体地说，我们将研究一系列的管脚类和鲸目动物，以问：(1)随着最大潜水深度和表面通风模式的变化，呼吸道几何形状是如何演变的？(2)在呼吸道塌陷过程中，抵抗和变形的气道对应的是什么形态，以及什么生态特征与呼吸道塌陷的类型有关？(3)海洋哺乳动物的肺气流模式与陆地哺乳动物有何不同，随呼吸模式和习惯性或最大潜水深度的变化而变化？该研究员将利用沿海撒利什人和海洋哺乳动物之间的文化联系，通过(1)通过预先设立的夏令营和暑期科学计划的互动肺生物学活动，招募美洲原住民学生参加STEM教育；(2)通过与土著本科生指导计划合作，指导学生参与该项目，提高当前美洲原住民学生的STEM成果。(3)通过在校园内的第一民族朗豪斯和Xwi7xwa图书馆举办合作研讨会和合作自然历史博物馆展览，增加与学院以外的美洲原住民社区的联系。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The broad objective of this research project is to investigate how the lungs of marine mammals have adapted to ocean life using medical imaging and fluid dynamics simulations. Many marine mammals completely empty and fill their huge lungs quickly at the surface, rapidly transporting large volumes of air. During diving their lungs must either resist the high pressure or collapse and re-inflate at the surface without injury. Changes in lung shape may alter gas mixing and blood-gas exchange. These investigations will provide insights into marine mammal evolution, and lung structure and function, leading to advances in respiratory fluid simulations. The fellow will leverage cultural connections between Coastal Salish persons and marine mammals to broaden the impact of the work. Broadening participation activities include outreach to the Coastal Salish community, showcasing the science at summer camps and mentorship programs, to increase interest and retention of Native American students in STEM. The fellow will use computed tomography, computational fluid dynamics and plesmography to characterize the structure and function of marine mammal lungs. Specifically, a range of pinnipeds and cetaceans will be investigated to ask: (1) How does airway geometry evolve with maximum diving depth and mode of surface ventilation? (2) What morphology corresponds to airways that resist vs. deform during airway collapse, and what ecological traits are related to the type of airway collapse? (3) How do the pulmonary airflow patterns of marine mammals differ from terrestrial mammals and vary with ventilatory mode and habitual or maximum diving depth? The fellow will utilize cultural connections between Coastal Salish persons and marine mammals to promote participation of groups underrepresented in biology by (1) recruiting Native America students into STEM education through interactive lung biology activities at pre-established camps and summer science programs; (2) increasing STEM outcomes for current Native American students by partnering with the Aboriginal Undergraduate Mentoring program to mentor students on the project and; (3) increase connections with Native American communities outside of the academy through collaborative symposia held at the First Nations Longhouse and Xwi7xwa library on campus and a collaborative natural history museum exhibit.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.