NRT-URoL: A Convergent Training Program on Biological Control

NRT-URoL：生物控制融合培训计划

• 批准号: 2244366
• 负责人: Elise Morgan
• 金额: $ 300万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2028-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2244366&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NRT; URoL; Convergent; Training; Program

Living systems have a remarkable ability to self-regulate and adapt by using feedback to respond to their ever-changing environment. For example, bacteria migrate towards food sources by responding to chemicals they sense in their surroundings, and bones and muscles increase their size and density in response to exercise. Understanding and harnessing these abilities of native biological systems, and creating new systems empowered with these abilities, could revolutionize how we analyze and engineer numerous aspects of our world. This vision is the focus of the emerging field of biological control which combines study of the engineering principles of feedback control with investigations of the diverse array of self-regulating systems in biology. At present, educational and research opportunities in biological control are limited to ad hoc collaborations whose scale is insufficient to meet the growing workforce demand in biotechnology, manufacturing, robotics, systems engineering, data science, rehabilitation, bioremediation, agriculture, and sustainability. As such, the goal of this National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Boston University is to develop, implement, and test a first-of-its-kind graduate training program in biological control. The project anticipates training approximately 75 Ph.D. students, including 27 NRT-funded trainees, drawn from mechanical, biomedical and electrical engineering, biology, physics, chemistry, bioinformatics, biochemistry, data sciences, and health sciences.This program will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to decipher the rules by which biological systems use feedback control and to use those rules to control and synthesize natural, engineered, and biohybrid systems. The program will build on strengths of 10 existing graduate programs at Boston University and many professional development resources. This NRT program includes: (A) newly designed, program-specific courses and bootcamps that use sequences of case studies, technical instruction, and team-based projects to develop a common language and shared body of technical skills in the fundamental underpinnings of biological control; (B) workshops and related events timed throughout the course of the student’s training that focus on development of specific professional skills (communication, ethics, teamwork), networking, and community building; (C) co-mentored, transdisciplinary thesis research in the field of biological control; and (D) internships with external partners in an array of workforce sectors. The program will recruit students broadly at the national level, using avenues such as diversity conferences, information sessions hosted nationally by Boston University’s Newbury Center for first-generation students, and direct outreach to diverse communities of undergraduate and master’s students. Using evidence-based practices in mentoring and professional development, the program will build an inclusive community that prioritizes student growth, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging—all factors known to improve graduate retention in science and engineering. Program evaluation will include short- and longer-term outcomes in research, education, integration of research and education, professional development, and inclusion, at both individual and institutional levels.The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.  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.

生命系统具有非凡的自我调节和适应能力，通过使用反馈来响应不断变化的环境。例如，细菌通过对周围环境中的化学物质做出反应而向食物源迁移，骨骼和肌肉通过运动增加其尺寸和密度。理解和利用原生生物系统的这些能力，并创造具有这些能力的新系统，可以彻底改变我们分析和设计世界各个方面的方式。这种观点是生物控制的新兴领域的重点，它结合了反馈控制的工程原理的研究与生物学中各种自我调节系统的研究。目前，生物控制方面的教育和研究机会仅限于临时合作，其规模不足以满足生物技术，制造业，机器人技术，系统工程，数据科学，康复，生物修复，农业和可持续性方面不断增长的劳动力需求。因此，这个国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）授予波士顿大学的目标是开发，实施和测试生物控制领域的第一个研究生培训计划。该项目预计将培养约75名博士。该计划将为学生提供所需的知识和技能，以破译生物系统使用反馈控制的规则，并使用这些规则来控制和合成自然，工程和生物混合系统。该计划将建立在波士顿大学现有的10个研究生课程和许多专业发展资源的基础上。该NRT计划包括：（A）新设计的、针对具体项目的课程和训练营，使用一系列案例研究、技术指导和团队项目，在生物控制的基本基础上开发共同语言和共享的技术技能;（B）在学生培训过程中安排的讲习班和相关活动，重点是发展特定的专业技能（沟通，道德，团队合作），网络和社区建设;（C）共同指导，生物控制领域的跨学科论文研究;（D）与一系列劳动力部门的外部合作伙伴实习。该计划将在全国范围内广泛招收学生，利用多样性会议等渠道，由波士顿大学纽伯里中心为第一代学生举办全国信息会议，并直接推广到不同的本科生和硕士生社区。在指导和专业发展中使用基于证据的实践，该计划将建立一个包容性的社区，优先考虑学生的成长，自我效能和幸福感-所有已知的因素，以提高研究生在科学和工程保留。项目评估将包括短期和长期的研究成果，教育，研究和教育的整合，专业发展和包容性，在个人和机构层面。NSF研究培训（NRT）计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的，新的潜在变革模式，用于STEM研究生教育培训。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求相一致的综合培训模式，在高优先级的跨学科或融合研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。