NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

NSF生物学博士后奖学金将研究和培训部分结合在一起，为年轻科学家在生物学领域的职业生涯做好准备，并为他们提供建立国际合作和利用国外研究设施和机会的机会。建立强有力的国际合作对美国和外国东道主都是有利的。亚当·W·弗格森的这一奖学金支持研究和培训，以了解人类干扰在塑造非洲小型食肉动物Genet寄生虫动态中的作用。肯尼亚有两个主办机构：由保罗·韦巴拉博士赞助的卡拉蒂纳大学和由大卫·奥东戈博士赞助的内罗毕大学。培训目标包括学习寄生虫生态学研究和职业发展活动的分析方法。教育活动包括一个由美国和非洲科学家组成的网络，他们对了解野生动物在东非疾病传播中的作用感兴趣。该奖学金由生物科学局和国家科学基金会国际和综合活动办公室提供支持。这项研究考察了像猫一样的哺乳动物食肉动物Genetta spp.是Viverridae科中食肉动物Genetta spp.，它们如何对不同的土地利用做法做出反应，并与当地社区及其相关的家养动物(如牛和狗)互动。具体地说，目标是了解这些相互作用如何影响基因组的健康和寄生虫负载，这可能会对寄生虫向人类和其他野生动物物种的传播动力学产生影响。鉴于浣熊、臭鼬、赤狐等小型食肉动物的大量存在，以及它们在其他农村系统的疾病动态中的重要作用，这项使用模式生物的研究结果为管理寄生虫和疾病提供了有用的信息，这些寄生虫和疾病对世界各地其他农村系统中的人类和家畜都构成了风险。在东非，居住在各种野生动物群落附近的当地人严重依赖牲畜，土地利用做法可能会通过改变宿主密度、生理和与家畜的接触率而导致当地野生动物寄生群落的变化。

NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in biology and provide them an opportunity to establish international collaborations and take advantage of research facilities and opportunities abroad. Forging strong international collaborations is mutually beneficial to the U.S. and the foreign hosts. This fellowship to Adam W. Ferguson supports research and training to understand the role of human disturbance in shaping the parasite dynamics in a small African carnivore, the genet. There are two host institutions in Kenya: Karatina University under the sponsorship of Dr. Paul Webala and the University of Nairobi under the sponsorship of Dr. David Odongo. Training goals include learning analytical methods for studies in parasite ecology and career development activities. Educational outreach includes a network of U.S. and African scientists interested in understanding the role of wildlife in disease transmission in East Africa. This fellowship is supported by both the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Office of International and Integrative Activities at NSF. The research examines how the cat-like, mammalian carnivores known as genets, Genetta spp., mesocarnivores of the family Viverridae, respond to different land use practices and interact with local communities and their associated domestic animals such as cattle and dogs. Specifically, the goal is to understand how these interactions affect the genets' health and parasite loads, which could have ramifications for parasite transmission dynamics to both humans and other wildlife species. Given the abundance of small carnivores, e.g., raccoons, skunks, red foxes, and their important roles in disease dynamics in other rural systems, results from this study, using a model organism, provide information useful for managing parasites and diseases that pose a risk to both humans and domestic animals inhabiting other rural systems worldwide. In East Africa, where local people living in close proximity to diverse wildlife communities depend heavily on livestock, land-use practices could result in changes to parasite communities of local wildlife by altering host density, physiology, and contact rates with domestic animals.