U.S. Culture Collection Network 2.0: The Next Generation Research Coordination Network for Ex Situ Microbial Germplasm Collections.

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Biological collections play an essential role in life science research. They support fundamental scientific studies at the molecular, cellular, organismal and community level, as well as applied research to improve health, food security, and energy production. The United States Culture Collection Network (USCCN) was established in 2012, engaging the culture collection community to facilitate the safe and responsible utilization of microbial resources through meetings and webinars, publications and position papers, and site visits to learn about collection practices. This award will establish the USCCN 2.0, a new Research Coordination Network (RCN) that will expand the scope and reach of the USCCN. The USCCN 2.0 will increase the reach of scientists across multiple disciplines to work toward addressing challenges and needs shared by all microbial collection managers and users. USCCN 2.0 will expand the network and identify additional collections through an online registry accessible by the broader scientific community. These data will increase the breadth and utility of living plant microbial collections for multi-disciplinary scientific projects. USCCN 2.0 will encourage participation of underrepresented communities and will promote a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce, increase partnerships between industry, academia, and other entities, and enhance infrastructure for research and education.The specific aims of USCCN 2.0 are to increase participation in the network; enhance links with other collection registries and repositories; and to cultivate the long-term sustainability of participating collections and the USCCN. The work on each of these aims will be underpinned by complementing and synergizing activities with other projects, networks, organizations, and societies globally. A top priority of the RCN is a collection registry to provide the necessary foundation to accomplish the network’s activities, and to ensure inclusivity of small research collections. Through a professionally administered process, a more extensive and diverse community of U.S. collections will be identified and brought into the network. Additional priorities include increasing participation and coordination among U.S. and international biological collections organizations; establishing linkages between current and future collection registries, repositories, and other forms of collected data; and building direct ties to stakeholders – those who develop or utilize microbes, microbial collections, and other microbial resources for research or industrial purposes – to build a network of networks.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.