MPS-Ascend: Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Heteropolymers: Sequence Details and Coupling to Statistical Fluctuations

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。Michael Phillips博士被授予NSF数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金（NSF MPS-Ascend），以开展一项与扩大STEM中代表性不足群体参与相关的研究和活动计划。Phillips博士的研究项目名为“MPS-Ascend：异聚物的液-液相分离：序列细节和与统计波动的耦合”，在资深科学家的指导下。该奖学金的主办机构是丹佛大学（University of Denver），赞助科学家是Kingshuk Ghosh博士。理论技术将应用于预测溶液中大型长链分子的行为，目的是更好地了解活细胞的工作原理。这项工作扩展了以前的模型，并将其应用于液-液相分离（LLPS）等现象，其中聚合物溶液分离为高密度和低密度区域。假设这个过程对于减少从DNA中提取信息的化学回路中的噪音很重要。开发的复杂理论工具将有助于简化新合成聚合物的设计，并促进对活细胞和进化中物理和化学过程的基本问题的理解。除了研究活动，该项目还促进STEM领域的教育和多样性。来自不同背景的学生直接参与学院和大学级别的信息活动。这些材料和方法免费分享给K-12教育工作者。学生通过由经验丰富的研究人员领导的介绍性项目来探索跨科学领域的主题。视频游戏、音乐、编程、机器学习和其他工具都被纳入到项目中。选定的学生将获得津贴，以支持他们在项目上花费的时间和精力。这个项目推动了几个不同领域的科学进步。此外，还开创了一种新的公众参与方法，以提高当地社区对科学的理解。通过这些方式，美国的健康、繁荣和福利得到了有力的促进。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 award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Dr. Michael Phillips is awarded a NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Dr. Phillips supports his research entitled “MPS-Ascend: Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Heteropolymers: Sequence Details and Coupling to Statistical Fluctuations”, under the mentorship of sponsoring senior scientists. The host institution for the fellowship is University of Denver, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Kingshuk Ghosh.Theoretical techniques will be applied to predict the behavior of large, long-chain like molecules in solution with an aim to better understand how living cells work. This work extends previous models and applies them to phenomena like liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) where polymer solutions separate into high- and low-density regions. The hypothesis is that this process is important to reducing noise in the chemical circuitry that extracts information from DNA. The complex theoretical tools developed will help streamline the design of new synthetic polymers, and advance understanding of fundamental questions about physical and chemical processes in living cells and evolution. Alongside research activities, this project promotes education and diversity in STEM fields. Students from diverse backgrounds are engaged directly at the college and university levels by informational events. Those materials and methods are shared freely with K-12 educators. Students explore topics across scientific fields by working on introductory projects led by experienced researchers. Video games, music, programming, machine learning, and other tools are incorporated into the projects. Select students are offered stipends to support the time and effort spent on projects. This project advances scientific progress across several different fields. Further, a new approach to public engagement is pioneered to improve scientific understanding in the local community. In these ways, the health, prosperity, and welfare of the United States is strongly promoted.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.