NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2018

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2018年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，利用生物馆藏进行研究。该奖学金支持研究和培训将以创新的方式利用生物收集的研究员。这项研究探讨了形式和功能之间的关系，这是生物学中的一个经典问题。研究员将通过研究哺乳动物腰椎（下背部）来研究这个问题。形式-功能关系的本质因生物体、大小和结构而异，对于极端或独特的结构尤其难以理解。食蚁兽、犰狳和一些鼩鼱的脊椎中进化出了额外的骨骼增强物，但目前尚不清楚这些增强物是否具有类似的功能，因为它们极端而不寻常的形状使它们难以比较。该研究员将使用专门的成像技术来分析鼩鼱、食蚁兽和犰狳的椎骨内部结构。内部骨结构表明了对施加在骨骼上的力的适应，因此该分析将确定这些结构之间可能的功能相似性，而这些相似性很难用外部骨结构来检测。这个项目将促进对自然选择如何塑造形态的理解；此外，它提供了一个令人兴奋的例子，向公众展示了对进化的科学理解正在不断增长，而基于收集的研究对于促进这种增长至关重要。该研究员将量化鼩鼱和异种动物腰椎的骨小梁形态，以验证以下假设：1)在鼩鼱和异种动物中补充椎间关节的趋同进化反映了对相似体内负荷方案的适应；2)更大程度的外部修饰对应于更坚固的脊柱，以承受高体内负荷；3)鼩鼱和异种动物的椎体功能根据运动类型而不是大小或系统发育而变化。该研究员将接受微ct成像技术、三维形态数据定量分析和系统发育比较方法的培训；在此项目中收集的3D数据将公开供未来的研究人员使用。该研究员将通过教育和推广项目，包括菲尔德自然历史博物馆，让公众参与趋同进化和极端形态的研究。他的YouTube系列节目The Brain Scoop。该研究员将与The Brain Scoop合作制作视频，突出该项目和基于收藏的生物研究，旨在通过鼓励观众参与自然历史来提高科学素养和批判性思维技能。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. This research explores the relationship between form and function, a classic problem in biology. The fellow will investigate this problem by studying the mammalian lumbar spine (lower back). The nature of the form-function relationship varies across organisms, sizes, and structures, and is especially difficult to understand for extreme or unique structures. Extra bony reinforcements have evolved in the spine of anteaters, armadillo, and several shrews, but it is unclear if these reinforcements serve similar functions because their extreme and unusual shapes make them difficult to compare. The fellow will use specialized imaging techniques to analyze the internal structure of the vertebrae in shrews, anteaters, and armadillos. Internal bone structure is indicative of adaptation in response to forces applied to a bone, so this analysis will determine possible functional similarities between these structures that is difficult to detect using external bone structure. This project will promote understanding of how natural selection works to shape morphology; further, it provides an exciting example to demonstrate to the public that scientific understanding of evolution is constantly growing, and collections-based research is critical for facilitating that growth.The fellow will quantify trabecular bone morphology of the lumbar spine in shrews and xenarthrans to test the following hypotheses: 1) convergent evolution of supplementary intervertebral articulations in shrews and xenarthrans reflects adaptation to similar in-vivo loading schemes; 2) a greater degree of external modification corresponds to a vertebral column that is more robust to bearing high in-vivo loads; and 3) vertebral function varies across shrews and xenarthrans according to locomotor type rather than size or phylogeny. The fellow will receive training in micro-CT imaging techniques, quantitative analysis of 3D morphological data, and phylogenetic comparative methods; 3D data collected during this project will be made publicly available for use by future researchers. The fellow will engage the public in the study of convergent evolution and extreme morphologies through education and outreach programs, including the Field Museum of Natural History?s YouTube series The Brain Scoop. The fellow will collaborate on videos for The Brain Scoop highlighting this project and collections-based biological research generally, aiming to increasing scientific literacy and critical thinking skills by encouraging audience members to become engaged with natural history.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.