Understanding Invasion and Disease Ecology and Evolution through Computational Data Education

生物世界是有机体之间相互联系的复杂丛林。随着人类继续修改地球的生物群，新的物种相互作用--包括入侵物种和新出现的疾病--将变得更加常见。对疾病和有害物种的有效应对取决于对其原因和影响的了解。由于新的相互作用的规模从分子到群落乃至更远，准确预测新相互作用的生物体的结果将越来越需要生物学家、生态学家、计算机科学家和数据科学家之间的协作和集成工具。这个NSF研究培训(NRT)项目将在入侵生物学、疾病生态学和计算机科学领域之间架起一座桥梁，以发现生物组织多个层面上新的相互作用的原因和结果。该项目名为“通过计算数据教育了解入侵和疾病生态与进化”，将为学员提供跨学科的体验式教育；协作和包容的工作环境；研究和旅行支持；以及各种科学职业的专业技能发展。该培训项目预计将培养70名MS和博士生，其中包括16名受资助的环境科学和分子生物科学博士项目的实习生。这一跨学科的研究和培训计划将为学生提供必要的计算知识和技能，以最大限度地提高预测上下文相关的新颖交互结果的能力和可扩展性。它还将提供必要的生物学知识，以开发创新和及时的解决方案，以应对紧急疾病和入侵物种。此外，受训者将探索物种相互作用的概念性时间框架(从最初的接触到持久性再到扩展)，以激励进化计算的新算法。学员将沉浸在一个项目中，该项目强调沟通、团队合作、道德、指导、跨文化能力和领导力，贯穿整个研究生学习。这些活动将包括具体的跨学科和基于项目的课程工作、专业发展研究所、数据科学训练营、导师网络、研究豆荚和在国外开展科学的机会。直接的地方影响将包括通过维持更多的博士线和建立坚实和包容的研究生文化，对研究生生活进行长期的制度改进。阿肯色州东北部的科学素养、鉴赏力和参与度不足的问题将通过有针对性的外联活动将UandI-DEECoDE注入当地社区来解决。在该地区之外，UandI-DEECoDE将解决全球意识、信息系统和预测性建模的关键作用，以解决与入侵物种和疾病有关的日益增长的问题。有针对性的招聘工作、可获得的研究和培训支持以及有意的指导将增加处于历史边缘地位的群体在STEM中的参与度和科学代表性。UandI-DEECoDE将为阿肯色州三角洲的知识型劳动力贡献科学家，阿肯色州三角洲是美国及其他地区最不利的地区之一。UANDI-DEECODE的重点是疾病生态学、入侵生物学和数据科学，这使该项目成为同类项目中第一个明确解决这些领域融合的需求，以增强新互动物种对生态学和进化的机械性理解。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、潜在的变革的STEM研究生教育培训模式。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合实习生模式，在高度优先的跨学科或趋同研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。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 living world is a complex thicket of connections among organisms. As humans continue to modify Earth’s biota, novel species interactions — including invasive species and emergent diseases — will become more commonplace. Effective responses to diseases and damaging species hinge on understanding their causes and impacts. Since the scale of novel interactions ranges from molecules to communities and beyond, accurately predicting the outcomes of newly interacting organisms will increasingly require collaborations and integrated tools shared among biologists, ecologists, computer scientists, and data scientists. This NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) project will bridge the fields of invasion biology, disease ecology, and computer science to discover the causes and consequences of novel interactions at multiple levels of biological organization. The project, "Understanding Invasion and Disease Ecology and Evolution through Computational Data Education (UandI-DEECoDE)," will provide its trainees with an interdisciplinary, experiential education; a collaborative and inclusive working environment; research and travel support; and professional skills development for a variety of scientific careers. The traineeship anticipates preparing seventy (70) MS and Ph.D. students, including 16 funded trainees from doctoral programs in Environmental Sciences and Molecular Biosciences. This interdisciplinary research and training program of study will provide students with the computational knowledge and skills necessary to maximize the power and scalability of predicting outcomes of context-dependent novel interactions. It will also provide the biological knowledge necessary to develop innovative and timely solutions to counter emergent diseases and invasive species. Furthermore, trainees will explore the conceptual temporal framework of species interactions (from initial contact to persistence to expansion) to motivate new algorithms for evolutionary computation. Trainees will be immersed in a program that emphasizes communication, teamwork, ethics, mentorship, cross-cultural competency, and leadership throughout their graduate studies. The activities will encompass specific interdisciplinary and project-based coursework, professional development institutes, data science bootcamps, mentorship networks, research pods, and the opportunity to conduct science abroad. Direct local impacts will include long-lasting institutional improvements to graduate student life by sustaining more Ph.D. lines and building a solid and inclusive graduate student culture. Scientific literacy, appreciation, and engagement deficits in Northeast Arkansas will be addressed by infusing UandI-DEECoDE into the local community through targeted outreach activities. Beyond the region, UandI-DEECoDE will address the critical roles of global awareness, information systems, and predictive modeling to tackle the growing issues regarding invasive species and diseases. Targeted recruitment efforts, accessible research and training support, and intentional mentorship will increase participation and scientific representation of historically marginalized groups in STEM. UandI-DEECoDE will contribute scientists to the knowledge-based workforce in the Arkansas Delta, one of the most disadvantaged regions in the United States and beyond. The focus of UandI-DEECoDE at the intersection of disease ecology, invasion biology, and data science makes this program the first of its kind to explicitly address the need to converge these fields to enhance mechanistic understanding of ecology and evolution among newly interacting species.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 or convergent 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.