NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Statistical Physics as a Lens to Illuminate the Evolution of the Genetic Code and Aging

这一行动资助了NSF 2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究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。生命系统的复杂性使得关于地球生命历史的普遍理论的发展非常具有挑战性。所有生命系统都使用遗传密码，所有的年龄都随着时间的推移而变化--这个项目将调查遗传密码的起源，以及密码使用方式的变化如何与衰老有关。这位研究员将使用新的方法来研究可能导致早期版本遗传密码的分子机制，并研究生物衰老背后的进化力量。为了增加在科学领域代表性不足的群体的参与，这位研究员将与STEM教育专家合作，为他的家乡阿拉斯加州乌特恰格维克的学生开发一种基于地点的课程。该课程将传统的生态学知识、气候科学和现代数据分析方法交织在一起，以培养中学生参与STEM。本次奖学金的研究重点将是遗传密码和生物衰老的进化起源，这两个地球生命的普遍特征尚未得到很好的理解。这位研究员将利用统计物理和高性能计算模型来研究早期版本的遗传密码可能是如何从控制催化活性分子混合物相分离的复杂原理中出现的，人们认为这些分子存在于地球早期。还将开发表观基因组的统计模型，以研究衰老过程中发生的表观遗传变化。该研究员将接受尖端计算生物学、课程开发、STEM推广和有效科学交流战略方面的培训。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。

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. The complexity of living systems makes the development of universal theories about the history of life on Earth very challenging. All living systems use a genetic code and all age with time—this project will investigate the origin of the genetic code and how changes in the way the code is used relate to aging. The Fellow will use new methods to investigate the molecular mechanisms that may have led to an early version of the genetic code and examine the evolutionary forces underlying biological aging. To increase the participation of groups underrepresented in science, the Fellow will collaborate with experts in STEM education to develop a place-based curriculum for students in Utqiagvik, Alaska, the Fellow's hometown. The curriculum will interweave traditional ecological knowledge, climate science, and modern data analysis methodology to foster STEM engagement in middle school children.The research for this Fellowship will focus on the evolutionary origins of the genetic code and biological aging, two universal features of life on Earth that are not well understood. The Fellow will utilize statistical physics and high-performance computational modeling to investigate how an early version of the genetic code may have emerged from the complex principles that govern phase separation in mixtures of catalytically active molecules thought to be present on early Earth. Statistical models of the epigenome also will be developed to investigate epigenetic changes that occur during aging. The Fellow will receive training in cutting-edge computational biology, curriculum development, STEM outreach, and strategies for effective scientific communication.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.