NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Neural basis of coordinated, multi-limbed movement in an emerging model tardigrade species

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This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, 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. This research develops tools in a novel microscopic animal system, to directly observe the whole-brain, and the whole-body nervous system—during the performance of complex behaviors. In particular, advanced genetic and microscopic methods will enable visualization of live brains and nervous systems, while animals are walking and responding to shifts in environmental stimuli. This will allow for a better understanding of a wide range of complex behaviors and disorders, and how common principles of nervous system organization are shared among various forms of life. To broaden participation in science, the Fellow will establish a new postdoctoral interest group at the host institution on the topic of anti-ableism in academia. The Fellow will also organize a week-long training program for undergraduate researchers at a Hispanic-serving institution, illuminating the path to becoming a future academic researcher. Advances in genome editing and cutting-edge microscopy have allowed for single-cell resolution imaging of neuronal activity in small, transparent model organisms in vivo—making the exploration of foundational questions in neuroscience increasingly accessible. Here, this project develops the microscopic animal known as the tardigrade as a new model system for convergent, systems-level neuroscience. Compared to C. elegans, tardigrades have more complex nervous systems capable of coordinated multi-limbed locomotion, yet they retain many lab-friendly qualities. This work establishes methods for transgenics in Hypsibius exemplaris and generates a strain of genetically-encoded calcium indicator GCaMP tardigrades. Subsequently, the whole-brain, whole-body neural dynamics of live tardigrades will be characterized, while animals undergo distinct sets of behaviors: constrained in a custom-built microfluidic device, freely-moving, and during -taxis. Behavioral assays utilize light-sheet microscopy and high-resolution video recordings in vivo. This highly interdisciplinary research will make significant contributions towards understanding how global neural dynamics underlie more complex behavior, such as locomotion, in live multi-limbed organisms. As a broader impact, the Fellow will form a new postdoctoral interest group at UCSF on the topic of “Understanding and challenging ableism in academia.” This group will have regularly scheduled journal clubs, a group website, outreach at academic conferences, and K12 outreach. Additionally, a week-long tardigrade-focused “Lab Fundamentals Bootcamp” will be organized, for first-time undergraduate researchers at California State University Channel Islands.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.