NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

NSF生物学博士后研究金将联合收割机研究和培训部分结合起来，为年轻科学家在生物学与其他科学学科交叉的新兴领域的职业生涯做好准备，在这种情况下，与数学和物理科学。这些研究员有望成为国家未来科学工作者的领导者。Tanya Cheeke的奖学金支持一项研究和培训计划，该计划将微生物生态学和生物信息学相结合，以表征土壤微生物在受干扰生态系统中本土植物建立成功或失败中的作用。了解受干扰生态系统中土壤微生物群落的根本差异对于为恢复工作提供信息至关重要，特别是在植物-土壤反馈改变了原生土壤微生物群落的大草原等地区。该奖学金的主办机构是印第安纳州大学，赞助科学家是James贝弗（生物系）和Yuzhen Ye（信息学和计算学院）。 该研究金提供了一个独特的合作，为研究员提供跨学科的研究培训。 教育推广是针对一个多元化的本科生群体谁将获得实际的研究技能，在分子生物学和恢复ecology.This研究测试新的方法，提高本地植物建立在受干扰的生态系统，并在保护生物学和恢复生态学有广泛的应用。具体而言，该研究评估了重新引入原生土壤生物（例如丛枝菌根真菌）以改善高羊茅为主的草原中原生草原植物建立的功效。总体目标是了解在受干扰景观中驱动单型优势的机制，并评估植物-土壤反馈在改善、维持或限制受干扰系统中植物群落多样性方面的作用。通过公开讲座和在项目完成后向当地推广机构提供研究摘要，与包括农民、牧场主、自然资源保护者和政策制定者在内的主要利益攸关方分享研究成果。

NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in emerging areas where biology intersects with other scientific disciplines, in this case with mathematics and physical sciences. The Fellows are expected to be leaders of the nation's scientific workforce of the future. This fellowship to Tanya Cheeke supports a research and training plan that integrates microbial ecology and bioinformatics to characterize the role of soil microbes in the success or failure of native plant establishment in disturbed ecosystems. Understanding the fundamental differences in soil microbial communities in disturbed ecosystems is vitally important for informing restoration efforts, especially in areas such as prairies where plant-soil feedbacks have altered the native soil microbial community. The host institution for this fellowship is Indiana University and the sponsoring scientists are James Bever (Department of Biology) and Yuzhen Ye (School of Informatics and Computing). The fellowship provides for a unique collaboration to provide interdisciplinary research training for the Fellow. Educational outreach is directed to a diverse group of undergraduate students who will gain practical research skills in molecular biology and restoration ecology.This study tests novel methods of improving native plant establishment in disturbed ecosystems and has broad applications in conservation biology and restoration ecology. Specifically, the research evaluates the efficacy of re-introducing native soil organisms, for example, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, to improve native prairie plant establishment in tall fescue dominated grasslands. The overall goal is to understand the mechanisms that drive monotypic dominance in disturbed landscapes and to evaluate the role of plant-soil feedbacks in improving, maintaining, or limiting plant community diversity in disturbed systems. Research results are being shared with key stakeholders, including farmers, ranchers, conservationists, and policy makers through public lectures and by providing a research summary to local extension agents upon completion of the project.