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

该变化计划将提供指导的研究经验后学士学位的参与者，其中许多人将从传统上在生命科学代表性不足的群体。学员将参与跨生物水平的研究项目（例如，分子、细胞、组织、整个生物体、种群），探索生物体如何应对快速变化的环境。当务之急是培养未来的生物学家，使他们能够轻松地在不同的生物水平上工作和合作，为未来的发现建立能力。变迁学会网络包括来自学术界、一个非政府组织、政府机构和工业界的各种专家，以及侧重于加强受训人员专业发展的网络成员。变迁学会将从不同背景中招聘学士后毕业生，以便根据几个与地理相关的主题扩大对科学研究的参与;不同的伙伴机构（包括部落学院）也将从这一进程中受益。 大多数生物体会对可预测的环境变化做出反应。然而，人类活动的影响导致不可预测的扰动增加，并改变了以前可预测的每日和季节变化的时间和发生。虽然同一物种的一些个体和种群正在进行调整，但其他人可能没有，人们越来越认识到，全面了解这种弹性差异需要采取综合方法。由CHANGE计划参与者进行的指导研究将确定鲁棒性和弹性的基本特性，使某些种群或物种能够持续应对快速的环境变化。该研究将为以下日益相关的问题提供深入了解：（1）随着气候变化，变化的能力是什么？(2)关键层次或组织的变化是否能对未来变化作出反应？（3）什么样的反应能够实现适应性变化？CHANGE计划将采用循证实践来创建实践社区，并有意识地进行指导，以实现支持性，个性化的学习和研究环境。通过参与改变计划，参与者将准备成为领导者在农村，EPSCoR状态和能够解决基本的生物学问题，同时与生物学的重要性上中西部在一个不断变化的星球参与的问题。变革计划的一个独特目标是系统地开发和传播基于证据的指导学士学位后的模式。通过这种方式，我们的网络将加强国家努力，建立更包容不同人群的计划。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

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.