RaMP: Exploration of Variation across Levels of Organization in a CHANGEable World: Fostering CHANGE through Research in a Community of Practice

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The CHANGE program will provide mentored research experiences for post-baccalaureate participants, many of whom will be from groups traditionally underrepresented in the Life Sciences. Mentees will engage in research projects across biological levels (e.g., molecules, cells, tissues, whole organisms, populations) exploring how organisms respond to rapidly changing environments. It is imperative to train future generations of biologists to be able to easily work and collaborate across different biological levels to build capacity for future discovery. The CHANGE network includes diverse experts from academia, a non-governmental organization, government agencies and industry, as well as network members focused on enhancing professional development of trainees. CHANGE will recruit post-baccalaureates from diverse backgrounds in order to broaden participation in scientific research according to several geographically relevant themes; diverse partnering institutions (including tribal colleges) will also benefit from this process. Most organisms respond to predictable environmental changes across the day and year. However, anthropogenic influences have led to an increase in unpredictable perturbations and altered the timing and occurrence of previously predictable daily and seasonal changes. While some individuals and populations of the same species are adjusting, others may not, and there is a growing appreciation that a comprehensive understanding of this variation in resilience requires an integrative approach. The mentored research conducted by participants in the CHANGE program will identify fundamental properties of robustness and resilience that enable certain populations or species to persist in response to rapid environmental change. The research will provide insight into increasingly relevant questions such as the following: (1) What is the ability to change as the climate changes?; (2) Does variation at critical levels or organization enable response to future change?; and (3) What responses enable adaptive change? The CHANGE program will employ evidence-based practices to create a community of practice, with intentional mentoring that enables a supportive, individualized learning and research environment. Through participation in the CHANGE program, participants will be prepared to become leaders in a rural, EPSCoR state and capable of tackling basic biological questions while engaging with questions of biological importance for the Upper Midwest on a changing planet. One unique goal of the CHANGE program is to systematically develop and disseminate an evidence-based model of mentoring post baccalaureates. In this way, our network will enhance national efforts to establish programs that are more inclusive of diverse populations.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.