Modeling epithelial stem cell competition in a dynamic Drosophila ovarian niche

摘要 Angela Castanito 是 NIGMS 多样性补充计划的有力候选人。她是加州大学旧金山分校 Tetrad 博士项目的西班牙裔美国研究生，已经表现出了出色的科学研究能力。此外，作为 UCSF SACNAS 分会的创始成员，她积极参与整个 UCSF 社区，特别是 UCSF 的西班牙裔社区。这为她提供了与来自不同背景的人互动的机会，既作为学员又作为榜样。尽管卡斯塔涅托女士目前正在研究生院读三年级，因此比多样性补充项目的典型候选人更深入地学习她的项目，但情有可原的情况推迟了她的进度。她通过非传统途径到达加州大学旧金山分校，这使她在生物学方面的经验和准备比同龄人少。结果，她不得不在第二年重新修读第一年的两门主要课程，并将助教职责推迟到第三年。与一年多前开始全职研究的同学不同，Castanieto 女士于 2011 年 12 月刚刚完成了最后一项非研究要求。尽管如此，在实验室的短暂时间里，她已经获得了令人信服的初步数据，这些数据表明了一种调节果蝇卵巢上皮干细胞命运的新机制。一年期的补充将为卡斯塔涅托女士提供开发她的项目的手段，使她能够通过 F31 博士前奖学金等机制获得独立支持的竞争力。因此，我们请求对我的 R01 进行补充，标题为“在动态果蝇卵巢生态位中模拟上皮干细胞竞争”，授权号 5R01GM097158-02。

Abstract Angela Castanieto is a strong candidate for the NIGMS Diversity Supplements Program. She is an Hispanic-American graduate student in the UCSF Tetrad PhD program and has already demonstrated an outstanding aptitude for scientific research. In addition, she is very involved with the UCSF community at large and specifically within the Hispanic community at UCSF as a founding member of the UCSF SACNAS chapter. This provides her with the opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds, both as a mentee and a role model. Although Ms. Castanieto is currently in her third year of graduate school, and thus further into her program than the typical candidate for the Diversity Supplements Program, extenuating circumstances have delayed her progress. She arrived at UCSF through a non-traditional path that left her with less experience and preparation in biology than her peers. As a result, she had to retake two of her major first year courses in her second year, and postpone her TA duties until her third year. Unlike her classmates, who started working on their research full-time over a year ago, Ms. Castanieto just completed the last of her nonresearch requirements in December, 2011. Nonetheless, during her short time in the lab, she has obtained compelling preliminary data that suggest a novel mechanism for the regulation of the epithelial stem cell fate in the Drosophila ovary. A one-year supplement would provide Ms. Castanieto with the means to develop her project to the point where she would be competitive for independent support, through mechanisms such as an F31 predoctoral fellowship. Thus, we are requesting a supplement for my R01, titled ¿Modeling epithelial stem cell competition in a dynamic Drosophila ovarian niche,¿ Grant number 5R01GM097158-02.