NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Molecular Mechanisms of Immune Programming In Utero

该行动为2022财年美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大生物学中代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该项目超越了微生物暴露是否发生在哺乳动物发育过程中的问题，并朝着推进对微生物如何为外部世界准备发育中的生物体的理解。将采用创新的方法来检验母体在发育过程中接触微生物可促进对有益微生物的耐受性并防止病原体的假设。该提案促进了研究员对单细胞生物学的兴趣，并涉及免疫系统发育方面的培训。这项研究将产生值得进一步调查的假设，推动独立研究生涯的启动，并支持研究员的活动，使教授多样化。这项研究的核心是通过分析免疫细胞在发育过程中的激活和扩张来理解控制早期免疫系统的“规则”。该研究利用(i)单细胞技术来分析来自不同区室的免疫细胞，（ii）空间转录组学来详细描述耐受性或炎症的微环境，以及（iii）将评估免疫挑战后不同免疫程序的功能。随着对免疫系统如何发展的基本科学理解的推进，这项工作也可能确定免疫可以被设计或修复的阶段。该研究员的使命与美国国家科学基金会在提高博士后水平的少数民族参与方面的目标一致。除了导师的角色，研究员实现这一目标的主要途径是通过当选博士后协会的参与委员会主席的领导角色。这个以博士后为主导的组织致力于创造一种自我归属感的使命，代表机构层面的博士后，并为休斯顿社区服务。该研究员领导博士后社区参与活动，这对于展示当今科学家的样子以及他们的科学研究需要什么至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 2022, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. This project reaches beyond the question of whether microbe exposures occur during mammalian development, and towards advancing the understanding of how microbes prepare a developing organism for the outside world. Innovative approaches will be used to test the hypothesis that maternal microbial exposures during development promote tolerance for beneficial microbes and protect against pathogens. This proposal fosters the Fellow’s interests in single-cell biology and involves training in immune system development. This research will generate hypotheses warranting further investigation, fueling the launch of an independent research career, and supporting the Fellow’s activities to diversify the professoriate.Central to this research is understanding the “rules” governing the early immune system by analyzing immune cell activation and expansion during development. The research utilizes (i) single-cell technologies to profile immune cells from different compartments, (ii) spatial transcriptomics to detail microenvironments of tolerance or inflammation, and (iii) will assess the functionality of distinct immune programs following an immune challenge. Along with advancing basic scientific understandings of how the immune system develops, this work may also identify stages where immunity could be engineered or repaired. The Fellow’s vocation aligns with the goals of the NSF in increasing minority participation at the postdoctoral level. Along with mentorship roles, the fellow’s primary avenue for achieving this is through an elected leadership role as the Engagement Committee Chair for an institutional Postdoctoral Association. This postdoc-led organization works towards the mission of creating a feeling of self-belonging, representing postdocs at the Institution level, and serving the Houston community. The Fellow leads postdoc community engagement events, which are paramount to showcasing what today’s scientists look like and what their scientific investigations entail.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.