NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2015年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大参与。该奖学金支持该研究员在一个主办实验室的一项研究和培训计划，以及一项扩大科学界代表性不足群体参与的计划。Ana V. Longo的奖学金支持真菌病原体感染多种两栖动物的能力的研究。该奖学金的主办机构是马里兰大学（UMD）和史密森保护生物学研究所（SCBI），赞助科学家是凯伦·利普斯博士和罗伯特·弗莱舍博士。真菌病目前被认为是对生物多样性和粮食安全的重要威胁。高毒力、长期生存的环境阶段和机会主义策略不仅使真菌病原体能够在不同物种中抵消宿主免疫，而且在没有宿主的环境中也能持续存在。这项研究的重点是两种真菌，它们与全球两栖动物数量下降有关。Batrachochytrium dendroatidis是一个多面手，感染超过三个两栖目的物种，而B. salamandrivorans只感染蝾螈和蝾螈。三个研究目标包括：(1)确定宿主系统发育，生态和地理分布对宿主特异性的相对贡献；(2)进行实验共感染以测量真菌竞争，定殖成功和疾病严重程度；(3)调查Batrachochytrium在美国Plethodontid salamander神秘衰退中的假定作用。通过超越单宿主单一病原体系统，该研究员旨在阐明可能导致最近疾病暴发增加的新传播事件。培训目标包括生物多样性信息学技术、自然历史收藏的使用、景观流行病学、真菌宏基因组学、系统发育重建以及使用社会媒体进行科学传播。扩大参与的计划包括招募、培训和指导来自科学领域代表性不足群体的本科生/研究生。考虑到马里兰大学帕克分校的人口多样性，未被充分代表的少数民族占人口的40%，该研究员将利用UMD的可用网络来识别对疾病生态学和保护感兴趣的学生。此外，通过讲座、当地实地考察和参观实验室，向当地高中学生提供疾病生态学和两栖动物保护方面的教育推广，让年轻学生了解科学家如何在大学环境中解决研究问题。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. This fellowship to Ana V. Longo supports research on what defines the ability of fungal pathogens to infect multiple species of amphibians. The host institutions for this fellowship are University of Maryland (UMD) and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), and the sponsoring scientists are Dr. Karen Lips and Dr. Robert Fleischer. Fungal diseases are currently recognized as an important threat to biodiversity and food security. High virulence, long-lived environmental stages, and opportunistic strategies are characteristics that not only allow fungal pathogens to counteract host immunity in different species but also to persist in the environment in the absence of a host. The fellowship research focuses on two fungi that are involved in global amphibian declines. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a generalist and infects species over three amphibian taxonomic orders, whereas B. salamandrivorans only infects salamanders and newts. Three research objectives include: (1) determine the relative contribution of host phylogeny, ecology, and geographical distribution to host specificity in Batrachochytrium fungi, (2) perform experimental co-infections to measure fungal competition, colonization success and disease severity, and (3) investigate the putative role of Batrachochytrium in enigmatic declines of Plethodontid salamanders in the United States. By extending beyond single-host single-pathogen systems, the Fellow aims to elucidate new transmission events that may have contributed to the recent increase in disease outbreaks.Training goals include techniques in biodiversity informatics, use of natural history collections, landscape epidemiology, fungal metagenomics, phylogenetic reconstruction, and use of social media for science communication. The plan to broaden participation includes the recruitment, training, and mentoring of undergraduate/graduate students from under-represented groups in science. Considering the demographic diversity at College Park, MD, where under-represented minorities comprise 40% of the population, the Fellow will take advantage of available networks at UMD to identify students interested in disease ecology and conservation. Additionally, educational outreach to local high school students focuses on disease ecology and amphibian conservation through talks, local field trips, and visits to the lab, giving young students a glimpse of how scientists approach research questions in a university setting.