Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology for FY 2009

这项行动为2009财年的美国国家科学基金会博士后研究奖学金提供资金，并为雷切尔·s·施瓦茨（Rachel S. Schwartz）的一项研究和培训计划提供支持，该计划名为“开发一种模型来指导基因选择，以确定物种之间的进化关系”。这项研究的主办机构是科罗拉多州立大学，由Rachel Mueller赞助。物种间的进化关系是生物学研究的重要基础。确定这种关系的一种方法是检查一组物种中基因的差异，因为关系最密切的物种通常差异最小。在估计这种关系时，一些基因比其他基因更有用。例如，有些基因进化得非常缓慢，以至于在整个近亲物种群体中它们是相同的；另一些基因进化得如此之快，以至于对于远亲物种来说，它们是如此不同，以至于我们无法确定谁的亲缘关系最密切。同样，有些基因太短，以至于它们没有足够的信息来识别亲密关系。这项研究是通过模拟遗传数据来确定基因的特征，从而确定对确定物种之间的进化关系有用的基因。科学训练目标包括获得系统发育、生物信息学和计算方法方面的专业知识。专业培训目标包括发展一个涵盖从种群到物种进化的研究项目，以及培养指导和教学学生的技能。这项研究将有助于正确确定众多物种的进化关系。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009 and supports a research and training plan entitled "Developing a model to guide selection of genes to determine evolutionary relationships among species" for Rachel S. Schwartz. The host institution for this research is Colorado State University under the sponsorship of Rachel Mueller.The evolutionary relationships among species are an important basis for research in biology. One way to determine such relationships is by examining differences in a gene within a group of species as species that are most closely related generally have the fewest differences. Some genes are more useful than others for estimating such relationships. For example, some genes evolve so slowly that they are identical for whole groups of closely related species; other genes evolve so quickly that they are so different for distantly related species we cannot determine who is most closely related. Similarly, some genes are so short that they do not contain enough information to identify close relationships. This research is identifying genes that will be useful for determining evolutionary relationships among species by simulating genetic data to determine the characteristics of genes that will be useful for this purpose. Scientific training objectives include gaining expertise in phylogenetics, bioinformatics, and computational methods. Professional training objectives include developing a research program spanning evolution from the population to the species level and developing skills in mentoring and teaching students.This research will contribute to correctly determining evolutionary relationships of numerous species.