Reed Institute

REED COLLEGE INSTITUTIONAL RELIEF FUNDS UNDER THE CARES ACT

REED COLLEGE EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS UNDER CARES ACT

CNH2-L-RUI-COLLABORATIVE: UNDOING LEGACIES OF INEQUALITY IN URBAN TREE-HUMAN DYNAMICS: FROM REDLINING TO EQUITABLE AND RESILIENT URBAN SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

CAREER: UPON WHICH SELECTION CAN ACT: QUANTIFYING HOW MUTATION AND ENVIRONMENT GENERATE GENOTYPIC & PHENOTYPIC VARIATION IN AN EMERGING ECOLOGICAL

BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS IN A LABORATORY-BASED TOKEN ECONOMY

GENERATING MOTOR RHYTHMS THROUGH RECURRENT FEEDBACK CIRCUITRY

CAREER: NETWORK-BASED SIGNALING PATHWAY ANALYSIS: METHODS AND TOOLS FOR TURNING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

CAREER: RESOLVING MULTI-SCALE ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THERMAL REFUGES AMIDST CLIMATE WARMING -MOST LIFE ON EARTH EXPERIENCES CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OVER TIME AND EXISTS IN ENVIRONMENTS THAT VARY ACROSS SPACE. ONE GRAND CHALLENGE THE FIELD OF ECOLOGY SEEKS TO ADDRESS IS UNDERSTANDING THE RESULTING BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THIS VARIATION. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ONE IMPORTANT TYPE OF SPATIAL VARIATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT, THERMAL REFUGES. THERMAL REFUGES ARE LOCATIONS ORGANISMS MAY FIND BENEFICIAL DURING PERIODS OF EXTREME WEATHER IN THAT THEY ARE NOT AS EXTREME AS SURROUNDING LOCATIONS, AND MAY MAINTAIN BIODIVERSITY AMIDST PERIODS OF EXTREME HEAT. USING BOTH EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS TO DOCUMENT HOW COMMON THERMAL REFUGES ARE, THE PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE HOW ORGANISMS USE THERMAL REFUGES, AND HOW THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF REFUGES CAN ALTER THE COMPOSITION OF ORGANISMS AND THEIR TRAITS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RESEARCH WILL PERFORM EXPERIMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS OVER WHICH THERMAL REFUGES MAY ALLOW INDIVIDUAL ORGANISMS TO PERSIST DURING PERIODS OF THERMAL STRESS. THE PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED AT A PRIMARILY-UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION, AND WILL HELP INFORM, AND BE COMPLETED AS PART OF, AN UNDERGRADUATE INQUIRY-BASED ECOLOGY COURSE FOCUSED ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION. WHILE OFTEN LAUDED FOR THEIR CAPACITY TO PROMOTE TAXONOMIC DIVERSITY BY MINIMIZING EXPOSURE TO LETHAL CONDITIONS, THE DEMOGRAPHIC BENEFITS OF THERMAL REFUGES ARE MORE OFTEN ASSUMED THAN EMPIRICALLY MEASURED, AS ARE THE POPULATION-LEVEL COSTS OF REFUGE UTILIZATION, AND SPATIAL SCALES AND DOMAINS OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION OVER WHICH REFUGES MAY INFLUENCE ECOLOGICAL OUTCOMES. THIS RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP A MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF THERMAL REFUGES FOR THE PERSISTENCE OF POPULATIONS AMIDST CLIMATE WARMING, AS WELL THEIR LIMITATIONS. IT AIMS TO 1) DOCUMENT THE EXTENT OF, UTILIZATION OF, AND PATTERNS OF DIVERSITY ASSOCIATED WITH, THERMAL REFUGES; 2) ASSESS AND GENERALIZE POPULATION-LEVEL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF THERMAL REFUGES AMIDST THERMAL STRESS, AND 3) UNDERSTAND HOW THERMAL REFUGES ALTER POPULATION PERSISTENCE AND DYNAMICS IN RESPONSE TO EXTREME TEMPERATURE EVENTS. SUCH INFORMATION IS VALUABLE FOR REFINING ESTIMATES OF EXTINCTION RISK AS IT FOCUSES ON ELUCIDATING THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AT THE SPATIALLY RELEVANT SCALES OVER WHICH POPULATION AND COMMUNITY DYNAMICS UNFOLD. IN PARTICULAR, THIS RESEARCH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HELP IDENTIFY EARLY WARNING INDICATORS AMIDST RISING MEAN TEMPERATURES AND EPISODIC EVENTS. THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES WILL ADDRESS THE PRESSING SOCIETAL CONCERN REGARDING THE FATE OF BIODIVERSITY AMIDST CLIMATE WARMING, AND REPRESENTS AN IMPORTANT INITIAL STEP IN A PATH TOWARDS DISASTER MITIGATION BY MAINTAINING, PRESERVING, OR ENGINEERING FEATURES OF THERMAL REFUGES THAT PROMOTE DESIRED ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES. 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.

RUI: ON THE ORIGIN OF GENETIC VARIATION: INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF VARIATION IN MUTATION RATES AND SPECTRA -UNDERSTANDING HOW GENETIC VARIATION BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS IS GENERATED IS NECESSARY FOR BOTH APPLIED AND GENERAL BIOLOGY. THE ORIGIN OF GENETIC VARIATION IS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE MAINTENANCE AND GENERATION OF BIODIVERSITY. IT INFLUENCES OUR VIEW OF HOW HUMANS AND OTHER SPECIES ADAPT IN A CHANGING WORLD AND CAN SHAPE HOW WE APPROACH PREVENTION OF PATHOGEN OUTBREAKS. MUTATION IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF VARIATION BUT SURPRISINGLY VARIATION IN MUTATION RATES IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THIS RESEARCH WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ADVANCES IN GENOMIC SCREENING TO EXAMINE WHAT ARE THE CAUSES, RATES, AND TYPES OF MUTATION THAT OCCUR NATURALLY USING A DIRECT, EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH. IN ADDITION TO INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF PROCESSES IMPORTANT TO HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY, BROADER IMPACTS WILL BE PROVIDED THROUGH TRAINING MATERIALS AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS ACROSS MULTIPLE INSTITUTIONS AND CAREER STAGES. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL FOCUS ON QUANTIFYING VARIATION AT THREE SCALES: LOCALLY, GENOME-WIDE, AND ACROSS SPACE OVER LONG TIME PERIODS. MULTIPLE FACTORS THAT MAY SHAPE MUTATION PROFILES WILL BE INDIVIDUALLY TESTED AND EVALUATED TO SEE WHAT ROLE THEY PLAY IN GENERATING GENETIC VARIATION AT THOSE SCALES. THOSE FACTORS INCLUDE GENERATION TIME, DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES, TRANSCRIPTION RATES, RECOMBINATION FREQUENCIES, AND AN ARRAY OF OTHER MECHANISMS THAT CAN BE EXPERIMENTALLY MANIPULATED IN A MULTICELLULAR EUKARYOTE, DAPHNIA. MULTIPLE SPECIES OF MICROCRUSTACEANS FROM THAT GENUS, A WIDELY-STUDIED MODEL GROUP, WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPARE THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THOSE FACTORS IN AN ?ALL ELSE EQUAL? CONTEXT UNAVAILABLE IN BROADER STUDIES CONDUCTED ACROSS THE TREE OF LIFE. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CAREER: COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF BACTERIAL MANGANESE HOMEOSTASIS -MANGANESE IS AN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT FOR BACTERIA. IT HELPS BACTERIA DEFEND AGAINST HARMFUL MOLECULES THAT ARE PART OF THE HUMAN IMMUNE RESPONSE. HOWEVER, TOO MUCH MANGANESE IS TOXIC. UNLIKE NUTRIENTS SUCH AS SUGARS OR VITAMINS, BACTERIA CANNOT PRODUCE MANGANESE. IT MUST BE IMPORTED FROM THEIR ENVIRONMENT. AS A RESULT, THEY MUST CAREFULLY CONTROL HOW MUCH ENTERS AND LEAVES THE CELL. TO MAINTAIN THIS BALANCE, BACTERIA USE SPECIALIZED PROTEINS THAT COLLABORATE TO REDUCE UPTAKE WHEN MANGANESE LEVELS ARE HIGH AND REMOVE EXCESS METAL TO PREVENT TOXICITY. THIS PROJECT WILL ELUCIDATE THE MOLECULAR DETAILS OF SUCH COLLABORATION. THE WORK WILL USE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY TO STUDY HOW BACTERIAL PROTEINS CONTROL MANGANESE LEVELS AND INFLUENCE BACTERIAL VIRULENCE. OBTENTION OF THE DETAILED MOLECULAR STRUCTURES OF THESE BACTERIAL PROTEINS WILL AID THE FUTURE DESIGN OF MORE PRECISE DRUGS THAT TARGET HARMFUL PATHOGENS. THIS WILL ALLOW THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY TO PRODUCE NEW TREATMENTS FOR SERIOUS INFECTIONS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. THE WORK WILL ALSO IMPROVE STEM EDUCATION AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS. IT WILL EXPAND ACCESS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO ADVANCED STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES. THESE ACTIVITIES WILL PREPARE THEM FOR JOBS IN THE RESEARCH AND BIOTECH WORKFORCES. THIS PROJECT ADVANCES NSF?S PRIORITIES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF MANGANESE HOMEOSTASIS IN BACTERIA BY STRUCTURALLY AND FUNCTIONALLY CHARACTERIZING THE NETWORK OF MANGANESE INFLUX AND EFFLUX PROTEINS FROM BACILLUS SUBTILIS AS WELL AS THE MECHANISM OF REGULATION OF THEIR EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION BY THE DUAL METALLOSENSOR PROTEIN, MNTR AND OTHER METAL IONS SUCH AS ZINC AND IRON, RESPECTIVELY. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THE WORK IN THE PROJECT WILL USE A COMBINATION OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES INCLUDING SINGLE-PARTICLE CRYOGENIC-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (CRYO-EM) AND X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY COUPLED WITH FUNCTIONAL ASSAYS SUCH AS IN VIVO TRANSCRIPTION ASSAYS, IN VITRO SOLUTION EXPERIMENTS (E.G. MASS PHOTOMETRY) AND METAL ION TRANSPORT ASSAYS ON INFLUX AND EFFLUX PROTEINS RECONSTITUTED IN PROTEOLIPOSOMES. BY INVESTIGATING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF MANGANESE SENSING, CAPTURE, AND TRANSLOCATION AT ATOMIC RESOLUTION, THIS RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE MOLECULAR INSIGHTS INTO THE LARGER FAMILY OF SUCH TRANSPORTERS (E.G. ATP BINDING CASSETTE AND CATION DIFFUSION FACILITATOR PROTEINS) AND TRANSCRIPTION METALLOREGULATORS ACROSS BACTERIAL SPECIES AND THEIR INTERPLAY WITH OTHER METAL HOMEOSTATIC PATHWAYS. THIS RESEARCH ALSO HAS TREMENDOUS DOWNSTREAM POTENTIAL FOR APPLIED SCIENCE, E.G. IN THE DESIGN OF MICROBIAL BIOSENSORS ENGINEERED TO TRACK MN POLLUTION IN SOIL AS WELL AS HAVE IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON THE BROADER FIELD OF BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND METAL HOMEOSTASIS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF HYBRIDIZATION IN MIMULUS: REVEALING THE ECOLOGICAL, PHENOTYPIC, AND GENETIC DETERMINANTS OF POROUS SPECIES BOUNDARIES. -THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATES HOW BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IS MAINTAINED BETWEEN CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT. THE WORK FOCUSES ON TWO SPECIES OF YELLOW MONKEYFLOWERS?ECOLOGICALLY DIVERSE WILDFLOWERS COMMON ACROSS NORTH AMERICA?THAT FREQUENTLY MEET AND INTERBREED TO CREATE HYBRIDS. IN A UNIQUE, MULTI-YEAR STUDY OF NATURAL POPULATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, THIS RESEARCH WILL TRACK HOW FLUCTUATING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, SUCH AS DROUGHT, INFLUENCE WHETHER THESE PLANT SPECIES INTERBREED OR REMAIN SEPARATE. BY COMBINING DETAILED FIELD OBSERVATIONS WITH ADVANCED GENETIC ANALYSES, THE PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY SPECIFIC GENES THAT HELP PLANTS ADAPT TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS AND MAINTAIN SPECIES BARRIERS. UNDERSTANDING THE GENETIC BASIS OF REPRODUCTIVE BARRIERS LIKE FLOWERING TIME IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR MODERN PLANT BREEDING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY. FOR EXAMPLE, KNOWLEDGE FROM THIS WORK COULD LEAD TO DEVELOPING CROPS THAT ARE BETTER SYNCHRONIZED WITH SPECIFIC GROWING SEASONS OR MORE RESILIENT TO CLIMATE-DRIVEN STRESSORS LIKE DROUGHT. ADDITIONALLY, THESE PROJECTS WILL OFFER RICH TRAINING EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WILL BE INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH. THE PROJECTS WILL ALSO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING PUBLIC LECTURES, EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATIONS AT THE FIELD SITES, GREENHOUSE TOURS, AND ENGAGEMENT WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES IS USUALLY SHOWN AS A SIMPLE SPLITTING OF ONE LINEAGE INTO TWO, BUT HYBRIDIZATION IS PERVASIVE ACROSS THE TREE OF LIFE AND CAN COMPLICATE THE SPECIATION PROCESS. THIS LONG-TERM STUDY OF NATURALLY HYBRIDIZING YELLOW MONKEYFLOWER (MIMULUS) SPECIES WILL REVEAL HOW INTERSPECIFIC GENE FLOW AFFECTS THE PROBABILITY OF ADAPTATION AND TEMPO OF SPECIATION. THE EVOLUTIONARY IMPACT OF HYBRIDIZATION DEPENDS CRITICALLY ON THE RATE OF INTERSPECIFIC MATING (PRE-ZYGOTIC BARRIERS) AND THE FITNESS OF HYBRIDS (POST-ZYGOTIC BARRIERS), AND THESE FACTORS, IN TURN, ARE OFTEN HIGHLY CONTINGENT UPON THE ENVIRONMENT. THE SPECIFIC SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS RESEARCH ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1) IDENTIFY THE ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF MIMULUS ANCESTRY STRUCTURE IN SECONDARY CONTACT ZONES ACROSS SPACE AND TIME. 2) DETERMINE HOW REPRODUCTIVE BARRIERS RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION. 3) IDENTIFY THE GENETIC BASIS OF DIVERGENT ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION AND ASSESS HOW MAPPED BARRIER LOCI RESPOND TO FLUCTUATING NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. 4) DISCOVER THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT AND GENOMIC IMPACT OF HYBRIDIZATION ACROSS A BROAD GEOGRAPHIC REGION. COMPLETION OF THE AIMS IN THIS PROPOSAL WILL PROVIDE AN UNPRECEDENTED VIEW OF THE ECOLOGICAL VARIABLES, PHENOTYPES, AND GENETIC LOCI THAT DETERMINE THE FATE AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPACT OF HYBRIDIZATION. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT INCLUDES SEVERAL PUBLIC OUTREACH INITIATIVES AND PROVIDES UNIQUE CROSS-TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AT A RESEARCH 1 INSTITUTION (UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA) AND A PREDOMINANTLY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION (REED COLLEGE). 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MATERNAL TRANSITIONS IN A MOUTH-BROODING CICHLID

RUI: SYNERGISTIC BIODEGRADATION OF POLYETHYLENE TEREPTHALATE (PET) PLASTIC BY MICROBIAL CONSORTIA -WITH NEARLY 400 MILLION METRIC TONS OF NEW PLASTICS PRODUCED EVERY YEAR AND WITH RECYCLING RATES AT ONLY 9%, THE MAJORITY OF PLASTICS EVENTUALLY ENTER THE ENVIRONMENT. SINGLE-USE ITEMS, SUCH AS WATER BOTTLES AND FOOD CONTAINERS, AND TEXTILES MADE FROM POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET) COMPRISE A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF THIS WASTE. WITH THE IDEA OF CREATING A MORE CIRCULAR PET ECONOMY, A COMMUNITY OF SOIL BACTERIA WITH THE ABILITY TO DEGRADE PET PLASTIC WASTE WAS IDENTIFIED. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE HOW THIS BACTERIAL COMMUNITY ACHIEVES THIS ENVIRONMENTALLY AND POTENTIALLY COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT FEAT. UNDERGRADUATES AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE RESEARCH. AN EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON RECRUITING UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY AND FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT RESEARCHERS. PREVIOUS RESEARCH IDENTIFIED A SNAPSHOT OF BACTERIAL GENES INDUCED DURING THE LATE EXPONENTIAL PHASE OF GROWTH ON PET PLASTIC. THIS INFORMATION, COMBINED WITH METAGENOME ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT SYNERGISTIC CROSS-FEEDING AMONG A CONSORTIUM OF SOIL BACTERIA WAS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ABILITY TO DEGRADE PET PLASTIC. IN THIS PROJECT, THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTS FOR PET DEGRADATION WILL BE EXPLORED BY RNA SEQUENCING TO ANALYZE THE GENE PRODUCTS NECESSARY FOR COLONIZATION BY THE BACTERIA AND FOR POLYMER CLEAVAGE DURING THE INITIAL STAGES OF GROWTH. INFORMED BY THESE ANALYSES, INDIVIDUAL GENES WITHIN THE METAGENOME WILL BE TARGETED FOR CREATING DELETION MUTATIONS. GENES TARGETED FOR DELETION WILL INCLUDE THOSE ENCODING BIOSURFACTANTS, UPTAKE SYSTEMS, ENZYMES KNOWN TO DEGRADE AND METABOLIZE PET, AND REGULATORS THAT PERCEIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNALS. THE MUTANTS WILL BE ANALYZED BY HPLC AND NMR TO MONITOR BREAKDOWN PRODUCTS, THUS ALLOWING INFERENCE OF WHICH GENES CONTRIBUTE TO PET DEGRADATION WITHIN THE CONSORTIUM. SUCH A SYSTEMS APPROACH OFFERS AN AVENUE TO UNDERSTAND THE OBSERVED SYNERGISTIC GROWTH OF MICROBES ON PET AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PLASTICS ARE RECYCLED IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. IN TURN, THIS KNOWLEDGE COULD BE APPLIED TO CREATE A MORE CIRCULAR PLASTICS ECONOMY USING BIO-RECYCLING TECHNIQUES. 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.

FROM SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SIGNALS: HOW EXTRINSIC CUES ALTER STEM AND PROGENITOR CELL

RUI: IDENTIFYING THE NEURAL MECHANISMS OF VOCAL EVOLUTION

RUI: COLLABORATIVE: A REAL APPROACH TO INVESTIGATING BACTERIAL DEGRADATION OF PET PLASTIC WASTE

CAREER: CAS: SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL TELLURIUM AND SELENIUM DETOXIFICATION

RUI: INVESTIGATING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF NON-MUSCLE MYOSIN II CONTRACTILITY

STEM SCHOLARS: A PROGRAM TO RETAIN PROMISING UNDERGRADUATES IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

MOUTH-BROODING: A TELEOST ADAPTATION AS ATRACTABLE MODEL OF METABOLIC DISORDER

NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS - SCIENTIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT - REED COLLEGE

AN ANIMAL MODEL OF GAMBLING IN A LABORATORY-BASED TOKEN ECONOMY

EVOLUTION OF BEHAVIORAL IMMUNE RESPONSES IN FRUIT FLIES: TRADEOFFS, MECHANISMS, AND GENETICS

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF NON-MUSCLE MYOSIN II CONTRACTILITY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT NON-MUSCLE MYOSIN II (NMII) CONTRACTILITY IS CRITICAL TO NUMBER CELLULAR PROCESSES FROM DEVELOPMENT TO DISEASE. NMII IS AN ATP-DEPENDENT MOLECULAR MOTOR THAT FUNCTIONS AS A DIMER COMPOSED OF TWO HEAVY CHAINS, WHICH ARE MADE OF AN ATPASE/MOTOR DOMAIN THAT BINDS ACTIN AND A COILED-COIL TAIL DOMAIN. IT IS ALSO BOUND TO TWO ACCESSORY PROTEINS, THE ESSENTIAL LIGHT CHAIN WHICH PLAYS STRUCTURAL ROLES, AND THE REGULATORY LIGHT CHAIN WHICH IS THE TARGET OF PHOSPHORYLATION, INTEGRATING THE MOLECULE INTO A MYRIAD OF SIGNALING PATHWAYS. PHOSPHORYLATION OF THE REGULATORY LIGHT CHAIN LEADS TO A RELIEF OF AN AUTOINHIBITION, OPENING UP THE MOLECULE AND MAKING IT COMPETENT TO BIND ACTIN, HOWEVER, BY ITSELF IT IS A POOR MOTOR PROTEIN. THE SECOND REQUIRED STEP OF ACTIVATION IS OLIGOMERIZATION INTO HIGHER ORDERED, BI-POLAR FILAMENTS. THIS OLIGOMERIZATION IS THOUGHT TO BE REGULATED BY THE TAIL DOMAIN WHERE AGAIN, PHOSPHORYLATION IS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE THE MAIN DRIVER OF THIS TRANSITION. WHILE DECADES OF RESEARCH HAVE REVEALED MUCH ABOUT THESE BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES, WE QUESTIONED WHETHER THERE WERE OTHER, YET-TO-BE REVEALED, MECHANISMS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO NMII’S REGULATION. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS THAT REGULATE NMII CONTRACTILITY. IN PROJECT 1, WE EXPLORE A POTENTIAL NOVEL NMII BINDING PROTEIN, SPLIT DISCS (SPDI). SPDI’S HUMAN HOMOLOG, SPECC11L HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN A SPECTRUM OF CRANIAL-FACIAL PATHOLOGIES, HIGHLY SUGGESTIVE OF ABEARENT CRANIAL NEURAL CREST CELL MIGRATION. SPECC1L WAS INITIALLY CHARACTERIZED AS ACTIN-MICROTUBULE CROSSLINKING PROTEINS, HOWEVER DATA FROM MY LAB SUGGESTS THAT ITS TARGET IS NMII AND ACTIN. IT IS OUR HYPOTHESIS THAT SPDI BINDS NMII TO REGULATE ITS CONTRACTILITY. THROUGH A SERIES OF BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND CELL BIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS WHERE WE ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISM BY WHICH SPDI ASSOCIATES WITH NMII, AND EMPLOY AN EX-VIVO DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL TO UNDERSTAND HOW ITS REGULATION OF CONTRACTILITY AFFECTS COLLECTIVE CELL MIGRATION. IN PROJECT 2 WE FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF ACETYLATION ON THE REGULATION OF NMII FILAMENT ASSEMBLY. WHILE PHOSPHORYLATION HAS LONG BEEN THOUGHT OF AS THE MAJOR DRIVER OF NMII DYNAMICS AND BEHAVIOR, RECENT DATA FROM MY LAB SUGGESTS THAT ACETYLATION MAY PLAY AN EQUALLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS PROCESS. WE WILL IDENTIFY THE ENZYMES INVOLVED IN THIS ACETYLATION-DEACETYLATION CYCLE, AND ELUCIDATE THE ROLE THIS POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION HAS ON FORCE GENERATION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH SPANS THE MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL, TO CELL BIOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATING HIGH-RESOLUTION MICROSCOPY AND CAPITALIZING ON DROSOPHILA AND THE BROAD GENETIC TOOLS THEY PROVIDE. GIVEN THE HIGH DEGREE OF CONSERVATION AND ITS UNIVERSALITY TO NUMBER OF CRITICAL CELLULAR PROCESSES THE RESULTS WE OBTAIN HERE WILL HAVE BROAD IMPLICATIONS FOR HOW NMII IS REGULATED ACROSS SPECIES AND WILL BRING NEW INSIGHTS TO HOW NMII IS INTEGRATED IN CELLULAR SIGNALING PARADIGMS.

MRI: TRACK 1 ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER TO ADVANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND TRAINING -THIS AWARD IS JOINTLY SUPPORTED BY THE MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION AND THE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAMS. REED COLLEGE IS ACQUIRING A 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER EQUIPPED WITH A BROADBAND PROBE TO SUPPORT THE RESEARCH OF PROFESSOR MIRIAM BOWRING ALONG WITH COLLEAGUES SHIVANI AHUJA AND GONZALO CAMPILLO-ALVARADO. THIS INSTRUMENT FACILITATES RESEARCH IN THE AREAS OF SYNTHETIC CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND CATALYSIS. IN GENERAL, NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) SPECTROSCOPY IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL TOOLS AVAILABLE TO CHEMISTS FOR THE ELUCIDATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF MOLECULES. IT IS USED TO IDENTIFY UNKNOWN SUBSTANCES, TO CHARACTERIZE SPECIFIC ARRANGEMENTS OF ATOMS WITHIN MOLECULES, AND TO STUDY THE DYNAMICS OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MOLECULES IN SOLUTION OR IN THE SOLID STATE. ACCESS TO STATE-OF-THE-ART NMR SPECTROMETERS IS ESSENTIAL TO CHEMISTS WHO ARE CARRYING OUT FRONTIER RESEARCH. THIS INSTRUMENT ENHANCES THE EDUCATIONAL, RESEARCH, AND TEACHING EFFORTS OF STUDENTS AT ALL LEVELS IN THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT AT REED COLLEGE AND ENABLES INCREASED DIVERSE REPRESENTATION OF HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS THROUGH ESTABLISHED OUTREACH PROGRAMS. THE AWARD OF THE 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER IS AIMED AT ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS SUCH AS MECHANISTIC ORGANOMETALLIC CATALYSIS, METAL ION TRANSPORTER PROTEINS, AND SYNTHESIS OF MOLECULAR SENSORS. SPECIFICALLY, THE INSTRUMENT IMPACTS RESEARCH FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING NEW MECHANISMS IN SYNTHETIC ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY OF A PLATINUM METHYL COMPLEX AND A BIMETALLIC IRIDIUM-RUTHENIUM CATALYST. ADDITIONALLY, THE INSTRUMENT ENABLES THE CHARACTERIZATION OF SMALL MOLECULE BINDERS OF BACTERIAL ATP-BINDING CASSETTE TRANSPORTER PROTEINS. OTHER INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE CHARACTERIZING THE SUPRAMOLECULAR CONFINEMENT OF PETROCHEMICALS USING DYNAMIC CRYSTALLINE FRAMEWORKS FOR SENSING AND SEPARATING COMPLEX CHEMICAL MIXTURES. IN RESPONSE TO GLOBAL HELIUM SUPPLY CHALLENGES, THE ACQUISITION OF THIS INSTRUMENT INCLUDES A SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNET WITH A LOW LOSS CRYOSTAT REDUCING THE INSTITUTION?S CONSUMPTION OF HELIUM. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: MOLECULAR MODULES OF AGGRESSION; MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN THE AFRICAN CICHLID ASTATOTILAPIA BURTONI

TISSUE, TIME, AND GENOTYPE: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF CELLULAR ENVIRONMENT, AGE, AND GERMLINE MUTATION RATE ON THE GENOME-WIDE RATE AND SPECTRUM OF SOMATIC MUTATION

THE REGULATION OF CELL MIGRATION AND ADHESION BY THE DROSOPHILA SPECC1L HOMOLOG, SPLIT DISCS

THE IMPACT OF GENDER ON ALCOHOL USE IN PEER DRINKING CONTEXTS - PROJECT TITLE: THE IMPACT OF GENDER ON ALCOHOL USE IN PEER DRINKING CONTEXTS PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE AIM OF THIS MIXED-METHODS RESEARCH IS TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF GENDER IDENTIFICATION AND GROUP DYNAMICS ON ALCOHOL-RELATED DECISION MAKING IN PEER SOCIAL CONTEXTS FOR EMERGING ADULTS. WHILE ALCOHOL USE AND CONSEQUENCES ARE HIGHEST AMONG EMERGING ADULTS (18-25 YEAR OLDS) COMPARED TO OTHER AGE GROUPS, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW GENDER IDENTIFICATION AND GENDER DYNAMICS IMPACT ALCOHOL USE IN THIS POPULATION. IN HUMAN RESEARCH, SEX TYPICALLY DENOTES BIOLOGY (MALE-FEMALE) WHILE GENDER REFERS TO IDENTITY (E.G., CISGENDER [WHERE SEX ASSIGNED AT BIRTH AND GENDER IDENTITY MATCH], GENDER DIVERSE [WHERE SEX ASSIGNED AT BIRTH DOES NOT MATCH GENDER IDENTITY]). DESPITE EVIDENCE OF A NARROWING GAP IN TERMS OF SEX-BASED DRINKING PATTERNS, DAILY ALCOHOL USE AND HEAVY EPISODIC DRINKING (HED; 5+ DRINKS PER EPISODE) IS MORE COMMON FOR MALES THAN FEMALES IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD. GENDER DIVERSE INDIVIDUALS ENGAGE IN MORE HED AND HAVE GREATER ODDS OF REPORTING ALCOHOL-RELATED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES AND SUICIDAL IDEATION WHILE DRINKING THAN CISGENDER PARTICIPANTS. THE COMPOSITION OF DRINKING GROUPS, BY BOTH GENDER AND SIZE, INFLUENCE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. MIXED-GENDER GROUPS (COMPOSED OF MEN AND WOMEN) AND OTHER-GENDER GROUPS (COMPOSED OF PEOPLE WHOSE GENDER DIFFERS FROM THAT OF THE DRINKER) PROMOTE GREATER ALCOHOL USE, A PHENOMENON THAT INTERACTS WITH GROUP SIZE. WOMEN MAY ALSO BE MORE LIKELY TO PERCEIVE THREATS IN SOCIAL CONTEXTS INVOLVING ALCOHOL AND ENGAGE IN PROTECTIVE BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE HARMS FROM DRINKING THAN MEN (E.G., EATING BEFORE DRINKING, LEAVING A DRINKING VENUE AT A SPECIFIC TIME). AS RESEARCH TYPICALLY FOCUSES ON PUTATIVE CISGENDER SAMPLES, LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW GENDER DIVERSITY IN DRINKING GROUPS IMPACTS CONSUMPTION. WE WILL RECRUIT 260 PARTICIPANTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 - 25 YEARS WHO ENDORSE BEING CISGENDER (N = 180) AND GENDER DIVERSE (TRANSMASCULINE, TRANSFEMININE, NONBINARY; N = 80). USING AUTOMATED SIMULATION METHODS ONLINE, WE WILL DETERMINE HOW GROUP SIZE, GENDER IDENTIFICATION AND GENDER DYNAMICS, INCLUDING PERCEIVED GENDER MATCH- MISMATCH AND GENDER CONSTELLATION OF THE GROUP, IMPACT BEHAVIORAL WILLINGNESS TO DRINK IN PEER SOCIAL CONTEXTS. USING OPEN-ENDED COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES AND STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH A SUBSET OF PARTICIPANTS (N = 80), WE WILL FURTHER IDENTIFY HOW GENDER IDENTIFICATION AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DRINKING CONTEXTS (GROUP SIZE, GENDER DYNAMICS) ELICIT DIFFERENTIAL RESPONDING IN TERMS OF PERCEIVED RISK FROM DRINKING AND IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES, BOTH CONSIDERED PROTECTIVE AGAINST THE CONSEQUENCES OF RISKY DRINKING. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES OF THIS LINE OF RESEARCH ARE: 1. TO UNDERSTAND HOW GENDER DYNAMICS CONVEY RISK AND PROTECTION FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED CONSEQUENCES, AND 2. TO PREVENT GENDER- BASED HEALTH DISPARITIES RELATED TO PROBLEMATIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN EARLY ADULTHOOD THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF TARGETED PREVENTION STRATEGIES.

RUI: HIGHER STRUCTURES IN STABLE, EQUIVARIANT, AND MOTIVIC HOMOTOPY THEORY

PCH SUPER FAMILY REGULATORS OF GRAM-NEGATIVE PATHOGENS

MCA: NETWORK-BASED TISSUE MODELING OF RETINAL NEUROGENESIS -AN AWARD IS MADE TO REED COLLEGE TO ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS THAT MODEL COMPLEX TISSUE STRUCTURES IN THE VERTEBRATE EYE. BY COMBINING ADVANCES IN LIVE IMAGING MICROSCOPY AND COMPUTATIONAL IMAGE ANALYSIS, THE PROJECT WILL GENERATE GRAPH-BASED MODELS THAT CAPTURE PATTERNS OF CELL ORGANIZATION IN THE DEVELOPING ZEBRAFISH RETINA. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO CREATE REPRODUCIBLE PROTOCOLS FOR APPLYING THESE TOOLS TO PUBLICLY-AVAILABLE IMAGING DATASETS, EXPANDING ACCESS TO SCIENTISTS WITH LIMITED IMAGING AND COMPUTE RESOURCES. BROADER IMPACTS INCLUDE NEW UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN COMPUTATIONAL IMAGE ANALYSIS AND A FACULTY MENTORING NETWORK AT PREDOMINANTLY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS (PUIS) TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AND RESEARCH AT RESOURCE-LIMITED INSTITUTIONS. THE THREE-YEAR PEER MENTORING NETWORK WILL FOSTER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCE SHARING AMONG PUI FACULTY, STRENGTHENING THE NATION?S STEM WORKFORCE THROUGH EXPANDED ACCESS TO UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY TRAINING. THE PROJECT ADVANCES FUNDAMENTAL METHODS FOR ANALYZING COMPLEX TISSUES BY INTEGRATING GRAPH THEORY WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION MICROSCOPY. WHILE GRAPHS HAVE LONG BEEN USED IN SYSTEMS BIOLOGY, THEIR FULL POTENTIAL HAS NOT BEEN LEVERAGED FOR MODELING MULTI-CELL PATTERNS IN TISSUE IMAGING. FURTHER, NEURONAL TISSUES SUCH AS THE EYE COMPLICATE TRADITIONAL MODELING APPROACHES DUE TO ELONGATED CELL SHAPES. TO ADDRESS A NEED FOR MODELS THAT REFLECT THE SPATIAL COMPLEXITY OF TISSUE, THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS GRAPH-BASED FRAMEWORKS TO ANALYZE CELL ORGANIZATION IN THE ZEBRAFISH RETINA. THESE FRAMEWORKS EXTEND GRAPH ALGORITHMS TO CAPTURE LOCAL PATTERNS OF CELL TYPES AND MODEL MULTI-CELL INTERACTIONS, OFFERING MORE INTERPRETABLE REPRESENTATIONS OF TISSUE ORGANIZATION. GRAPH-BASED METHODS OFFER COMPUTATIONALLY EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVES TO DEEP LEARNING APPROACHES AND HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GENERALIZE TO OTHER SENSORY SYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT WILL BRIDGE DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE, OFFERING NEW PERSPECTIVES ON TISSUE ORGANIZATION AND GROWTH ACROSS MULTIPLE SCALES. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: UNCOVERING THE POPULATION AND COMMUNITY LEVEL CONSEQUENCES OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY

RUI: MOTIVIC, OPERADIC, AND COMBINATORIAL HOMOTOPY THEORY -THE SCOPE OF CONTEMPORARY HOMOTOPY THEORY ? THE MATHEMATICS OF SHAPE AND DEFORMATION ? HAS EXPANDED DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT YEARS, AND NEW TOOLS AND PERSPECTIVES ARE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND ITS FEATURES AND POTENTIAL. THE PIS WILL EXPLORE HOMOTOPY THEORY THROUGH THE LENSES OF COMBINATORICS (ENUMERATING STRUCTURES), OPERADS (PARAMETRIZING OPERATIONS), AND ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY (SHAPES DESCRIBED BY POLYNOMIAL EQUATIONS). THE PIS WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE PARTICIPATION OF A DIVERSE GROUP OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THEIR RESEARCH BY ORGANIZING THE COLLABORATIVE MATHEMATICS RESEARCH GROUP (CMRG). CMRG PARTICIPANTS WILL PRODUCE NOVEL RESEARCH RESULTS AND ALSO ENGAGE THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY IN MATHEMATICS OUTREACH EFFORTS. THE PIS WILL INVESTIGATE OPERADIC, COMBINATORIAL, AND MOTIVIC ASPECTS OF HOMOTOPY THEORY WITH THE AIM OF PRODUCING STRUCTURAL, ENUMERATIVE, AND COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS. THEIR PROJECTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (1) FURTHER EXPLORE THE COMBINATORICS OF MODEL STRUCTURES ON FINITE CATEGORIES, ESPECIALLY WITH AN EYE TOWARDS CATALAN COMBINATORICS OF ARBITRARY TYPE (IN THE SENSE OF CLUSTER ALGEBRAS). (2) UNCOVER ADDITIONAL STRUCTURE IN THE BALMER SPECTRUM OF THE STABLE MOTIVIC HOMOTOPY CATEGORY BY LEVERAGING A RECOLLEMENT WITH ITS ?TALE VARIANT. (3) EXTEND OUR COMPUTATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF STABLE MOTIVIC HOMOTOPY THEORY BY COMPUTING THE SLICE SPECTRAL SEQUENCE FOR THE BACHMANN-HOPKINS CONNECTIVE HERMITIAN IMAGE-OF-J SPECTRUM. (4) CONSTRUCT A RIGID MODEL FOR E_N-SPACES AS COMMUTATIVE MONOIDS IN A CERTAIN DIAGRAM CATEGORY. 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.

SATC: CORE: SMALL: RUI: DIFFERENTIALLY PRIVATE HYPOTHESIS TESTING

RUI: TELOMERE FUNCTION AND DYSFUNCTION IN VIVO

IDENTIFYING THE FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS AND SKILLS OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY IDENTIFYING THE CONCEPTS AND SKILLS NECESSARY FOR MATERIALS CHEMISTRY RESEARCH. SOLUTIONS TO THE NATION?S MOST CHALLENGING PROBLEMS REQUIRE MATERIALS DESIGNED WITH THE RIGHT CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. FOR EXAMPLE, ADDRESSING ENERGY NEEDS REQUIRES HIGHER-EFFICIENCY SOLAR PANELS; DECREASING THE PREVALENCE OF MICROPLASTICS REQUIRES ROBUST PLASTIC ALTERNATIVES. CONSEQUENTLY, MATERIALS CHEMISTRY IS A RAPIDLY GROWING FIELD OF RESEARCH AND AREA OF THE NATIONAL WORKFORCE. HOWEVER, MATERIALS CHEMISTRY IS NOT COMMONLY REPRESENTED IN THE UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY CURRICULUM, AND IT IS NOT CLEAR WHICH CONCEPTS AND SKILLS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR A HOLISTIC PREPARATION IN MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NSF EDU CORE RESEARCH: BUILDING CAPACITY IN STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH (ECR: BCSER) PROGRAM, THIS INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATOR DEVELOPMENT-TRACK (IID) PROJECT SEEKS TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CONCEPTS AND SKILLS ARE USED IN MATERIALS CHEMISTRY RESEARCH THROUGH A NATIONAL SURVEY OF POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS. THIS UNDERSTANDING WILL ENABLE EDUCATION RESEARCHERS TO STUDY STUDENT LEARNING IN CRUCIAL CONTENT AREAS, AND WILL AID EDUCATORS IN PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO DEVELOP MATERIALS CHEMISTRY COMPETENCIES. CONCURRENTLY, THIS PROJECT WILL BUILD THE QUANTITATIVE SKILLS OF AN EARLY-CAREER EDUCATION RESEARCHER IN SURVEY DESIGN AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. IN THIS WAY, THIS PROJECT ENABLES THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE NATIONAL STEM WORKFORCE IN AREAS RELEVANT TO MAJOR NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES. THIS STUDY USES AN INTEGRATED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK TO OPERATIONALIZE SKILLS AND CONCEPTS. THIS FRAMEWORK INFORMS THE COLLECTION OF EXPLORATORY INTERVIEWS WITH POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS WHO CONDUCT MATERIALS CHEMISTRY RESEARCH. AN INDUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF THESE INTERVIEWS WILL YIELD INSIGHTS THAT WILL INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF A QUANTITATIVE SURVEY. IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE STANDARDS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING, EVIDENCE BASED ON TEST CONTENT, RESPONSE PROCESS, AND INTERNAL STRUCTURE WILL BE USED TO ENSURE VALIDITY OF THE DATA PRODUCED BY THE SURVEY, AND ITS INTERPRETATION. THE SURVEY WILL BE ADMINISTERED NATIONALLY TO POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS IN MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. RESPONSES WILL BE ANALYZED USING CLUSTER ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS. THESE FINDINGS WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP A MAP IDENTIFYING THE MATERIALS CHEMISTRY SKILLS AND CONCEPTS IN USE, THEIR RELATIVE FREQUENCY OF USE, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THEM. PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL CENTER THE SKILL AND CONCEPT MAP. PROJECT FINDINGS AND OUTCOMES WILL BE SHARED THROUGH PRESENTATIONS AND OPEN-ACCESS RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. FOR THIS INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI) WILL DEVELOP RELEVANT QUANTITATIVE SKILLS THROUGH COURSEWORK AND COLLABORATION FROM A PROJECT MENTOR AND ADVISORY BOARD. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY NSF?S EDU CORE RESEARCH BUILDING CAPACITY IN STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH (ECR: BCSER) PROGRAM, WHICH IS DESIGNED TO BUILD INVESTIGATORS? CAPACITY TO CARRY OUT HIGH-QUALITY STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH IN THE CORE AREAS OF STEM LEARNING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN STEM FIELDS, AND STEM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: GENOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF ADAPTIVE RADIATION: A ROLE FOR GENE DUPLICATION AMONG AFRICAN CICHLID RADIATIONS

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: STEMEDIPRF: INVESTIGATING THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE GRADING SYSTEMS IN UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION -TRADITIONAL GRADING METHODS CAN CAUSE STUDENTS ANXIETY, DECREASE THEIR MOTIVATION TO LEARN, AND INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS AMONG CLASSMATES IN UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION. TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, THERE HAS BEEN INCREASED INTEREST IN ?ALTERNATIVE? GRADING METHODS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO IMPROVE STUDENTS? LEARNING EXPERIENCES. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THESE PRACTICES HAVE IN COLLEGE STEM CLASSROOMS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE USE AND IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVE GRADING METHODS IN COLLEGE STEM COURSES BY SUMMARIZING THE CURRENT STATE OF THE LITERATURE, UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS? LEARNING EXPERIENCES, AND INVESTIGATING INSTRUCTORS? TEACHING CHOICES. AS A RESULT, THIS PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF ALTERNATIVE GRADING PRACTICES IN UNDERGRADUATE STEM COURSES. THE KNOWLEDGE GENERATED FROM THIS PROJECT COULD SUPPORT RESEARCHERS AND INSTRUCTORS IN IMPROVING UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF ALTERNATIVE GRADING PRACTICES IN STEM, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO CONDUCT THREE LINES OF SCHOLARLY WORK. FIRST THE PROJECT AIMS TO PRODUCE A SCOPING SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW ON ALTERNATIVE GRADING PRACTICES, IDENTIFYING ALTERNATIVE GRADING METHODS USED IN UNDERGRADUATE STEM CLASSROOMS AND EXPLORING THEIR REPORTED IMPACTS ON STUDENT LEARNING. CONCURRENTLY, THE PROJECT AIMS TO INVESTIGATE STUDENTS? LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTORS? TEACHING CHOICES RELATED TO ALTERNATIVE GRADING PRACTICES THROUGH SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS. INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM TWO COMPARABLE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS WITH ONE KNOWN TO USE TRADITIONAL GRADING METHODS AND THE OTHER KNOWN TO USE ALTERNATIVE GRADING METHODS. INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS WILL BE GUIDED BY ESTABLISHED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN USED TO EXPLORE STUDENTS? LEARNING EXPERIENCES (SELF-EFFICACY THEORY AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY) AND INSTRUCTORS? PEDAGOGICAL DECISION MAKING (TEACHER-CENTERED SYSTEMIC REFORM THEORY). QUALITATIVE DATA PRODUCED BY STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR INTERVIEWS WILL BE ANALYZED THROUGH THEMATIC ANALYSIS. ULTIMATELY, THIS PROJECT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO OUR FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT ALTERNATIVE GRADING METHODS MAY HAVE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS? STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTORS? REASONING FOR USING A PARTICULAR GRADING METHOD. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE STEM EDUCATION POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (STEM ED PRF) PROGRAM THAT AIMS TO ENHANCE THE RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND PRACTICES OF RECENT DOCTORATES IN STEM, STEM EDUCATION, EDUCATION, AND RELATED DISCIPLINES TO ADVANCE THEIR PREPARATION TO ENGAGE IN FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES KNOWLEDGE WITHIN THE FIELD. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: THE ANCESTRAL MODULATION HYPOTHESIS: PREDICTING HORMONAL REGULATION OF SEX-BIASED TRAITS -THIS AWARD FUNDS RESEARCH ON THE EVOLUTIONARY AND BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL TRAITS THAT ARE BIASED TOWARD MALE EXPRESSION OR FEMALE EXPRESSION. UNDERSTANDING THE MULTI-LEVEL PROCESSES THAT PRODUCE SUCH TRAITS WILL HELP EXPLAIN THE DIVERSITY OF TRAITS THAT ARE OBSERVED ACROSS INDIVIDUALS AND SPECIES. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE GENETIC LEVELS, MOLECULAR LEVELS, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL LEVELS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO SEX-BIASED TRAITS. BY UNDERSTANDING EACH LEVEL, THE WORK WILL ADDRESS A GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW THESE PROCESSES EVOLVE. IN COMMON DISCOURSE, DESCRIPTION OF THE VAST DIVERSITY OF TRAITS ASSOCIATED PRIMARILY WITH FEMALES OR PRIMARILY WITH MALES IS OFTEN COMPROMISED IN THE EFFORT TO ILLUSTRATE GENERAL BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS. PART OF THIS AWARD WILL PRODUCE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH MATERIALS TO EMPHASIZE THE FULL SPECTRUM OF NATURAL TRAIT VARIATION ACROSS INDIVIDUALS AND SPECIES. MULTIPLE EDUCATIONAL LEVELS WILL BE TARGETED THROUGH OUTREACH TO K-12, UNDERGRADUATE INTRODUCTORY COURSES, AND A MASTER?S LEVEL COURSE. THE RESEARCHERS WILL ADDRESS THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL TRAITS THAT ARE BIASED TOWARD MALE EXPRESSION OR FEMALE EXPRESSION. THE WORK WILL OCCUR AT FIVE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION: GLOBAL HORMONE LEVELS, METABOLIC ENZYME LEVELS FOR CONVERTING HORMONES AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL, HORMONE RECEPTOR LEVELS AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL, THE DISTRIBUTION OF GENOMIC BINDING SITES FOR RECEPTORS, AND THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSE. TWO GENERA OF FISHES WILL BE USED THAT INCLUDE EVOLUTIONARY TRANSITIONS OF PHENOTYPE FROM MALES TO FEMALES OR VICE-VERSA. USING THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE TRAITS FOR PREDICTIVE POWER, THE RESEARCH WILL TEST WHETHER THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL MECHANISMS USE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS BASED ON THE ANCESTRAL CONDITION OF THE PHENOTYPE. THE PREDICTION IS THAT NOVEL TRAITS WILL USE EXISTING MATING-TYPE BIASED PATHWAYS WHILE EVOLUTIONARILY TRANSITIONED TRAITS WILL MODIFY PATHWAYS THAT ARE TYPICALLY PRESENT IN THE OPPOSITE MATING-TYPE. BY BRIDGING PROXIMATE AND ULTIMATE MECHANISMS, THE TESTED MODEL PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR EXPLORING ADDITIONAL MECHANISMS FOR BIAS AND FURTHER NUANCED PHENOTYPES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ASSORTED MATING-TYPE BIASED TRAITS IN THE NATURAL WORLD. THIS AWARD WAS CO-FUNDED BY THE PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND BIOMECHANICS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL SYSTEMS. 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.

MECHANISMS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENETIC REVERSAL OF GENDER BIASED BEHAVIOR

RUI: LARGE KINETIC ISOTOPE EFFECTS AS MECHANISTIC INDICATORS IN ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS & MECHANISMS B PROGRAM OF THE CHEMISTRY DIVISION, MIRIAM A. BOWRING OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AT REED COLLEGE IS WORKING WITH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS TO STUDY THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANISMS OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS TO GREENER ALTERNATIVE FUELS. ONE MAIN TOOL FOR FINDING OUT HOW REACTIONS WORK IS THE STUDY OF REACTION RATES. IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED THAT SOME REACTIONS INVOLVING HYDROGEN ARE MUCH FASTER THAN EXPECTED COMPARED TO THE CORRESPONDING REACTIONS WITH DEUTERIUM. THE RESEARCHERS AIM TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISMS THAT CAUSE SUCH UNUSUAL OBSERVATION, WHICH COULD LEAD TO IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF CHEMICAL REACTIVITY. FURTHERMORE, THE GROUP IS COLLABORATING WITH HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TEACHERS ON RESEARCH IN RECLAIMING PALLADIUM IN ROAD DIRT AS A CATALYST, WHICH MAY ATTRACT BROADER STUDENT INTERESTS IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS). ANOMALOUSLY LARGE KINETIC ISOTOPE EFFECTS (KIES) ARE OCCASIONALLY OBSERVED DURING MECHANISTIC INVESTIGATIONS OF PROMISING ORGANOMETALLIC CATALYSTS. THE MECHANISTIC ORIGINS OF LARGE KIES ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD, AND ARE OFTEN ASCRIBED TO PROTON TUNNELING. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ENCOMPASSES MECHANISTIC STUDY OF TWO SYSTEMS WITH LARGE OBSERVED KIES: PROTONOLYSIS TO RELEASE METHANE FROM PLATINUM METHYL COMPLEXES, AND FORMIC ACID DEHYDROGENATION WITH AN IRIDIUM-RUTHENIUM BIMETALLIC CATALYST. TO DETERMINE THE ORIGINS OF THE LARGE KIES IN THESE SYSTEMS, KINETIC STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED WHILE SYSTEMATICALLY ADJUSTING VARIABLES SUCH AS REACTION CONCENTRATION, STOICHIOMETRY, AND TEMPERATURE, PROPERTIES OF THE ORGANOMETALLIC FRAGMENTS, AND THE ACID. 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.

THIS PROJECT WILL MEASURE REACTIVE NITROGEN AND THE FATE OF OXIDIZED NITROGEN AT THE SOUTHERN OXIDANT AND AEROSOL STUDY (SOAS) CAMPAIGN IN CENTREVILL

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: H-NOX HOMOLOGUES IN BIOFILM FORMATION: A COMBINED MOLECULAR AND SYSTEMS LEVEL APPROACH.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: EFFECTS OF INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES ON CHARGE TRANSPORT IN CONDUCTING ORGANIC/INORGANIC COMPOSITES -NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTORS ARE USED IN MANY APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES, SOLAR CELLS, AND FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS. THEY ALSO HAVE SHOWN PROMISE FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS CONVERTING HEAT INTO ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY STORAGE. IN ORDER TO REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL, IT IS NECESSARY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CHARGE TRANSPORT. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT WILL STUDY HOW ELECTRICAL CHARGE MOVES THROUGH COMPOSITES OF CONDUCTING POLYMERS AND NANOPARTICLES. THE FOCUS IS ON CONTROLLING CHARGE TRANSPORT ACROSS INTERFACES TO CREATE MATERIALS THAT ARE USEFUL FOR CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WILL BE PERFORMED AT TWO PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS. WHILE ACHIEVING THE TECHNICAL GOALS OF THE PROJECT, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL ALSO EDUCATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS IN ENERGY CONVERSION AND STORAGE CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES. THE PROJECT USES SCALABLE EARTH-ABUNDANT MATERIALS AND LOW-COST SOLUTION-BASED MANUFACTURING APPROACHES. THIS WILL FACILITATE THE WIDESPREAD DEPLOYMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAKE USE OF THESE COMPOSITE MATERIALS. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION THIS STUDY ENHANCES UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE INTERFACE BETWEEN COMPONENTS OF A NANOSTRUCTURED CONDUCTING ORGANIC/INORGANIC COMPOSITE AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON ITS CHARGE TRANSPORT, BY EXPLORING THE ROLE OF AN INTERFACIAL TERM ON MODELS OF CHARGE TRANSPORT AND EXPERIMENTALLY TESTING THOSE MODELS. IN PARTICULAR, THIS INTERFACIAL TERM ILLUMINATES THE EMERGENCE OF COMPOSITE TRANSPORT PHENOMENA THAT TRANSCEND THE SUM OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS. PREVIOUS MODELS OF ELECTRONIC TRANSPORT IN THESE MATERIALS GENERALLY NEGLECT INTERFACIAL EFFECTS BY USING AN EFFECTIVE-MEDIUM APPROXIMATION TO TREAT THE INTERPENETRATING MATERIAL AS A COMBINATION OF INDIVIDUAL PARALLEL AND SERIES PHASES. BY INCORPORATING THE IMPACTS OF INTERFACIAL AREA, THICKNESS, AND INTERFACIAL ENERGY BARRIER, THIS PROJECT GUIDES THE DESIGN OF SUCH MATERIALS FOR MANY APPLICATIONS, WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON THESE MATERIALS? THERMOELECTRIC ENERGY CONVERSION AND CAPACITIVE ENERGY STORAGE. AT BOTH REED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH, FROM INITIAL LABORATORY SETUP AND THEORETICAL MODELING TO DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTING RESULTS, AND WRITING PAPERS. BY DESIGN, THIS PROJECT USES STRAIGHTFORWARD SOLUTION-BASED FABRICATION AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, WHICH MAKES IT PARTICULARLY ACCESSIBLE TO STUDENTS WHO MAY BE NEW TO RESEARCH AND/OR NEWLY FORMING THEIR IDENTITIES AS SCIENTISTS. THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY INVOLVES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN RESEARCH AND WILL INDIRECTLY IMPACT MANY OTHERS THROUGH IMPROVED RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE, UPDATED LABORATORY CURRICULUM, AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE THESIS PROJECTS. IT ADDITIONALLY LINKS FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING, BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL, WITH THE ENGINEERING OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR SOCIETY. 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.

THE ROLE OF THE SPECTRAPLAKIN SHORT-STOP IN CELL MIGRATION

LER CONTROL OF EPEC VIRULENCE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: ISOLATING NEURAL MECHANISMS OF PERCEPTUAL AWARENESS FROM POST-PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES

DEVELOPING A NEW MODEL OF SPIDER GASTRULATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: WEAK AND PROTECTIVE MEASUREMENTS IN THE TIME DOMAIN

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HNDS-R: SBP: RUI: DIFFERENCES IN CO-AUTHORSHIP ACROSS A GLOBAL LANDSCAPE: THE ROLE OF NETWORK STRUCTURE IN SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY -THIS RESEARCH LOOKS AT WHETHER THE COLLABORATIVE CONTEXT AFFECTS SCIENTIFIC OUTCOMES DIFFERENTLY FOR SCIENTISTS IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, FOCUSING ON THE GENERALIZABILITY OF NETWORK THEORIES. UNDERSTANDING THE REASONS FOR DISPROPORTIONATE REPRESENTATION IN TOP POSITIONS AND DIFFERENT CAREER DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE SCIENCE IS INCREASINGLY A TEAM-BASED ENTERPRISE. THEORIES ABOUT HOW SCIENTISTS COLLABORATE OFTEN ASSUME THAT EVERYONE BENEFITS EQUALLY FROM THEIR CONNECTIONS WITH OTHERS, BUT KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION IS INFLUENCED BY STATUS AND IDENTITY IN INTERACTIVE CONTEXTS. THIS RESEARCH ADDS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW KNOWLEDGE IS CREATED AND SHARED IN GLOBAL COLLABORATIVE SCIENCE COMMUNITIES. IT ALSO TACKLES IMPORTANT ISSUES RELATED TO THE ONGOING EFFORTS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN STEM FIELDS. THIS RESEARCH ADOPTS A NETWORK ANALYTIC APPROACH USING A LARGE-SCALE BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE. THIS DATABASE IS A COMPREHENSIVE SOURCE FOR CITATION INFORMATION THAT ALLOWS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF UNBOUNDED CO-AUTHORSHIP NETWORKS THAT INCLUDE INTRA- AND INTER-DISCIPLINARY CO-AUTHORSHIP TIES ACROSS TIME AND ON A GLOBAL SCALE. IN A SET OF THREE INQUIRIES, THE RESEARCHERS EXAMINE DIFFERENCES IN BENEFIT FROM RESOURCE-RICH COLLABORATIVE TIES, THROUGH CUMULATIVE ADVANTAGE, AND FROM TENDENCIES TOWARD HOMOPHILY (STATUS) IN COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITY OVER TIME AND DURING THE PEAK COVID-19 PANDEMIC PERIOD. THE PROJECT ALSO TACKLES AN UNRESOLVED PUZZLE REGARDING THE INNOVATIVE VALUE OF RESEARCH SPECIALIZATION ALONGSIDE COLLABORATIVE BROKERAGE AND THE INTERACTION EFFECTS OF SPECIALIZATION AND BROKERAGE ON INNOVATION AND THE GENERATION OF ?GOOD IDEAS?. THIS WORK HAS IMPLICATIONS NOT ONLY FOR SCHOLARS OF SCIENCE, BUT ALSO FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION POLICY THAT SEEKS TO BOLSTER THE ENGAGEMENT OF ALL SCIENTISTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW INNOVATIONS. SUSTAINING THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND COLLABORATIVE RELATIONS OF A TALENTED AND DIVERSE WORKFORCE HAS IMPLICATIONS NOT ONLY FOR EQUITABLE OUTCOMES IN SCIENCE, BUT ALSO FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROSPERITY. THE PROJECT IS CO-FUNDED BY THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCE: DISCOVERY, COMMUNICATIONS, AND IMPACT PROGRAM, THE HUMAN NETWORKS AND DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM, AND THE SCIENCE OF BROADENING PARTICIPATION PROGRAM. 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.

RUI: STRUCTURE AND COMPUTATIONS IN MOTIVIC AND CHROMATIC HOMOTOPY

RUI: COMMUNITY BANK AND CREDIT UNION EFFECTS ON COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL ECONOMIES IN THE US DURING THE GREAT RECESSION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: BANK TYPE, BANK MARKET ECOLOGIES, AND SUPPORT OF SMALL BUSINESSES -AMERICAN BANKING HAS LONG DENIED CREDIT TO BORROWERS IN POOR AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. YET THAT SYSTEM CONTAINS A STRIKING VARIETY OF LENDING ORGANIZATIONS, RANGING FROM GLOBAL CORPORATE BEHEMOTHS TO COMMUNITY BANKS, CREDIT UNIONS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS, THAT EMBRACE VERY DIFFERENT BUSINESS MODELS MISSIONS AND VALUES, AND THAT RELATE TO BORROWERS AND COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING POOR AND TRADITIONALLY MARGINALIZED MINORITY ONES, IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS. THIS PROJECT ANALYZES THAT ORGANIZATIONAL VARIETY AND ITS IMPACT IN THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM (PPP) TO DETERMINE HOW DIFFERENCES IN LENDING ORGANIZATIONS AND THE ECOLOGIES OR MIXES OF LENDERS THAT POPULATE BANKING MARKETS SHAPE ?AND MIGHT ENHANCE?ACCESS TO CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS IN POOR AND NON-WHITE COMMUNITIES. IDEALLY SUITED FOR THIS STUDY, THE PPP WAS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM THAT WORKED THOUGH THE NATIONS? EXISTING LENDERS TO ISSUE NEARLY 12 MILLION LOANS TO BUSINESSES TO KEEP WORKERS ON PAYROLL DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND PRODUCED DETAILED DATA ON WHERE AND TO WHOM LENDERS LENT. TO ADDRESS THE IMPACT OF LENDER ORGANIZATIONAL FORM AND BANK MARKET ECOLOGIES ON CREDIT FLOWS, THIS PROJECT COMBINES INTERVIEWS OF LENDERS AND BORROWERS WITH MULTI-LEVEL QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF A NEW DATA SET ON ALL PPP LOANS THAT LINKS: A) DATA ON LENDING BY SEVEN LENDER TYPES AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN 32,000 COMMUNITIES, WITH B) DATA ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMPOSITIONS OF 625 REGIONAL BANKING MARKETS THAT SERVED THOSE COMMUNITIES. THESE ANALYSES CONTRIBUTE BROADLY TO UNDERSTANDING HOW ORGANIZATION SHAPES INEQUALITY, WHILE EXTENDING ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY AND INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH ON ORGANIZATIONAL FORM AND COMPLEXITY TO NEW OUTCOMES. THEY ADDRESS A KEY GAP IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF CLASS AND ETHNO-RACIAL DIVIDES IN BANKING AND CREDIT, INTEGRATING WORK IN ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES, ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY ON BANK ORGANIZATION, BANKING SYSTEMS AND THEIR ECONOMIC IMPACTS WITH RESEARCH IN SOCIOLOGY, LAW AND ALLIED FIELDS, WHICH EXTENSIVELY ANALYZES BANKING AND CREDIT AS SITES OF DISCRIMINATION AND SEGREGATION, BUT COMMONLY SETS ORGANIZATIONAL VARIETY IN BANKING ASIDE (OR FOCUS ON LARGE BANKS) TO DOCUMENT BROADER SYSTEMIC TENDENCIES. AND BY IDENTIFYING POSSIBILITIES FOR GREATER INCLUSIVITY WITHIN AMERICAN BANKING?AND IN GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS THAT WORK THOUGH THAT SYSTEM ? THIS PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS NEW AVENUES FOR REFORM, INCLUDING BUILDING THE CAPACITIES OF LENDERS THAT ENGAGE TRADITIONALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND ALTERING MIXES OF INSTITUTIONS IN REGIONAL MARKETS. 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.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ATMOSPHERIC NANOPARTICLE GROWTH FROM NITRATE (NO3) RADICAL INITIATED OXIDATION OF MONOTERPENES

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON GIVING, RECEIVING, AND CONCEIVING CARE

CRII: SHF: ABSTRACT INTERPRETATION OF PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE THE PRACTICE OF VERIFYING PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS. PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS ARE A WAY OF CAPTURING RANDOMIZED BEHAVIOR USING THE SAME KINDS OF STRUCTURES WE USE FOR REGULAR PROGRAMMING. THIS KIND OF RANDOMNESS IS A KEY COMPONENT OF MANY MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS, SO PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS ARE AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR BUILDING SAFER, MORE ROBUST MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, TECHNIQUES FOR VERIFYING THAT PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS BEHAVE SAFELY ARE UNDER-STUDIED COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL DETERMINISTIC PROGRAMS. THIS PROJECT'S NOVELTIES ARE IMPROVED TOOLS FOR VERIFICATION OF PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS, ALLOWING MORE PROPERTIES TO BE VERIFIED FOR A LARGER SET OF PROGRAMS. THIS PROJECT'S IMPACTS ARE IMPROVED SAFETY AND RELIABILITY FOR SYSTEMS WHICH INCLUDE PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS AND ULTIMATELY FOR SYSTEMS WITH MACHINE LEARNING COMPONENTS. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING BY PROVIDING THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WORKING IN THE PROJECT WITH HIGH-DEMAND SKILLS SUCH AS SOFTWARE VERIFICATION. CONCRETELY, THIS PROJECT BUILDS ON THE FRAMEWORK OF ABSTRACT INTERPRETATION, AN EXISTING METHODOLOGY FOR VERIFYING TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS. WHILE THERE HAS BEEN SOME WORK IN EXTENDING ABSTRACT INTERPRETATION TO PROBABILISTIC PROGRAMS, THAT WORK HAS VARIOUS DRAWBACKS MAKING IT INFEASIBLE FOR ANALYZING COMPLEX PROGRAMS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP NOVEL ABSTRACT DOMAINS FOR VERIFYING PROGRAMS WITH COMPLEX, CONTINUOUS PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS MODELED BY TRADITIONAL PROGRAMMING CONSTRUCTS. SUCH PROBLEMS ARISE NATURALLY IN (FOR EXAMPLE) CONTINUOUS CONTROL SETTINGS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO EQUIP THESE DOMAINS WITH THE ORDER-THEORETIC OPERATORS REQUIRED TO HANDLE PROGRAMS WITH UNBOUNDED LOOPS. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: CQIS: OP: STATE-PREPARATION-AND-MEASUREMENT TOMOGRAPHY

THIS STUDY EVALUATES EXISTING TORTURE PREVENTION POLICIES USED DURING WAR AND THEN CONSIDERS WHAT MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS EVIDENCE-BASED PREVENTION.

REED COLLEGE REACTOR INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE

RUI: THE INFLUENCE OF NETWORK STRUCTURE ON SEX DISPARITIES IN SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION: COMMERCIAL INNOVATION IN THE LIFE SCIENCES

NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS - SCIENTIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT- ''REED INSTITUTE/REED COLLEGE''

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INFLUENCE OF NO3 ON SECONDARY AEROSOL FORMATION: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF REAL-TIME FIELD OBSERVATIONS

GENETICS OF BARLEY YELLOW DWARF VIRUS STOP-CODON READTHROUGH IN YEAST

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BEEHIVE: A CROSS-PROBLEM BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORK FOR NETWORK BIOLOGY -MANY IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF BIOLOGY INVOLVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MOLECULES WITHIN CELLS. FOR EXAMPLE, A MEDICINE MAY TURN OFF A DISEASED PROTEIN, OR PROTEIN MAY ACTIVATE AN IMPORTANT GENE. THESE INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS ORGANIZE INTO LARGER BIOLOGICAL NETWORKS. MANY COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AIM TO PREDICT THESE TYPES OF NETWORK RELATIONSHIPS AND WHICH RELATIONSHIPS CONTROL ESSENTIAL BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES. THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK CALLED BEEHIVE TO SUPPORT RUNNING AND COMPARING MODERN COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR STUDYING BIOLOGICAL NETWORKS. BEEHIVE WILL MAKE IT CONSIDERABLY EASIER TO ANALYZE BIOLOGICAL DATA WITH THESE METHODS AND EVALUATE THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. THE FRAMEWORK WILL AUTOMATICALLY UPDATE A WEBSITE THAT TESTS TOP METHODS ON A VARIETY OF BIOLOGICAL USE CASES, WHICH WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT BENCHMARKING AND ASSESSMENTS FOR THE NETWORK BIOLOGY SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. THE PROJECT WILL SHOWCASE BEEHIVE WITH BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN GENE REGULATION, PROTEIN SIGNALING, AND CHEMICAL TARGET NETWORKS. BEEHIVE WILL BE USED IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THROUGH A SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE ACROSS THE THREE PROJECT SITES. THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP BEEHIVE, A GENERAL PLATFORM FOR MULTIPLE TYPES OF NETWORK BIOLOGY WORKFLOWS. BEEHIVE WILL PROVIDE A SHARED FRAMEWORK AND MODULAR COMPONENTS THAT IMPLEMENT COMMON ELEMENTS OF NETWORK BIOLOGY ANALYSES INCLUDING INSTALLATION OF ALGORITHMS, DATA PRE-PROCESSING, CROSS-VALIDATION METHODS, AND NETWORK VISUALIZATION. THE BEEHIVE INFRASTRUCTURE WILL ENABLE RUNNING MANY NETWORK ALGORITHMS AT SCALE FROM A SINGLE INTERFACE. THIS STRATEGY WILL SUPPORT RIGOROUS BENCHMARKING OF NETWORK ALGORITHMS AND GREATLY SIMPLIFY TESTING MULTIPLE ALGORITHMS ON A NEW BIOLOGICAL DATASET. THE PROJECT WILL APPLY BEEHIVE TO THREE REPRESENTATIVE APPLICATIONS, NAMELY GENE REGULATORY NETWORK INFERENCE, PATHWAY RECONSTRUCTION, AND SMALL MOLECULE-PROTEIN TARGET PREDICTION APPLICATIONS. THESE PROBLEMS ARE IMPORTANT IN THE GENOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS RESEARCH COMMUNITIES DUE TO RECENT COMPUTATIONAL AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES, SUCH AS GRAPH NEURAL NETWORKS AND SINGLE-CELL RNA-SEQUENCING. KEY COMPONENTS OF BEEHIVE WILL INCLUDE A MODULAR AND GENERAL PURPOSE PYTHON PACKAGE THAT CAN BE REUSED, A TEMPLATE SNAKEMAKE WORKFLOW TO EXECUTE THE SHARED STEPS OF NETWORK BIOLOGY ANALYSIS FROM DATA PRE-PROCESSING THROUGH NETWORK VISUALIZATION, A FRAMEWORK FOR CONTINUOUS BENCHMARKING THAT USES CONCEPTS FROM CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, DOCKER CONTAINERS FOR TENS OF EXISTING NETWORK BIOLOGY ALGORITHMS, AND DATASETS SPANNING YEAST, MOUSE, HUMAN, AND PLANTS. CORE OBJECTIVES OF BEEHIVE INCLUDE ADVANCING COMPUTATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR NETWORK BIOLOGY ANALYSIS AND BENCHMARKING AS WELL AS CREATING AN ACTIVE AND GROWING SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO CREATE RIGOROUS AND STANDARDIZED BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORKS AND CONTRIBUTE METHODS AND DATASETS TO BEEHIVE. IN THE LONG TERM, THE PROJECT WILL BROADLY GENERALIZE TO OTHER ASPECTS OF NETWORK BIOLOGY AND CAN CATALYZE ANALOGOUS EFFORTS IN OTHER DOMAINS IN SYSTEMS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY. THIS PROJECT WILL TRAIN GRADUATE STUDENTS AND CREATE A SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE THAT HOSTS SIX UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS PER YEAR ACROSS THE THREE PROJECT SITES. RECRUITMENT FOR THE SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE WILL EMPHASIZE BROADENING PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS FROM HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED GROUPS. RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://BIOINFORMATICS.CS.VT.EDU/~MURALI/BEEHIVE. 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.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY

NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS - SCIENTIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT - REED COLLEGE

BRAIN STEM WORKSHOP, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 14-17, 2015

HOMOTOPY THEORY IN THE ECLIPTIC: CHROMATIC, EQUIVARIANT, AND MOTIVIC MATHEMATICS

CONFERENCE ON EQUIVARIANT AND MOTIVIC HOMOTOPY THEORY

WOMEN IN TOPOLOGY WORKSHOP

ENHANCING DANCE LITERACY: DANCE NOTATION THROUGH TOUCH TECHNOLOGY

CONFERENCE: SUMMER SCHOOL IN HOMOTOPY COLIMITS -THE SUMMER SCHOOL ON HOMOTOPY COLIMITS WILL BE HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF REGINA, CANADA ON JUNE 22-26, 2026. IT IS AIMED AT GRADUATE STUDENTS AND EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS TO LEARN ABOUT HOMOTOPY (CO)LIMITS, A FUNDAMENTAL TOOL IN HOMOTOPY THEORY. HAVING A WORKSHOP FOCUSED ON THIS UNIFYING TECHNICAL TOOL WILL FOSTER CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT RESEARCH GROUPS IN HOMOTOPY THEORY AND ADJACENT AREAS. THE SUMMER SCHOOL WILL CONSIST OF FIVE MINI-COURSES, WHICH WILL BE TAUGHT BY EXPERTS IN THE FIELD (ALEJANDRO ADEM, ANNA MARIE BOHMANN, BRENDA JOHNSON, CHRIS KAPULKIN, AND INNA ZAKHAREVICH). HOMOTOPY LIMITS AND COLIMITS ARE CONSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE BROADLY USED IN ALL AREAS OF HOMOTOPY THEORY. THIS SUMMER SCHOOL WILL EXPOSE PARTICIPANTS TO THE TOOLS FOR WORKING WITH HOMOTOPY (CO)LIMITS, SPECIFICALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF MODEL CATEGORIES AND INFINITY CATEGORIES. ADDITIONALLY, THE MINI-COURSES WILL ALSO PROVIDE PARTICIPANTS WITH PERSPECTIVES ON HOW HOMOTOPY (CO)LIMITS ARE USED IN VARIOUS BRANCHES OF ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY, IN PARTICULAR, EQUIVARIANT HOMOTOPY THEORY, CALCULUS OF FUNCTORS, AND CLASSIFYING SPACES OF GROUPS. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE: HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/VIEW/REGINAHOMOTOPY. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CHEMISTRY EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR WORKSHOP

A COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE IN COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY

FY 2015 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - MML-CHEMBIO

NSF STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT FOR THE 2022 INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY: MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND CONTROL (CNB-MAC) -BIOLOGICAL NETWORKS ARE CRITICAL TOOLS FOR MODELING AND ANALYZING QUESTIONS IN SYSTEMS BIOLOGY, AND COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY HAS GROWN INTO A SUBFIELD THAT COMBINES BIOLOGY, COMPUTER SCIENCE, AND MODELING. SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOPS ARE IMPORTANT FOR RESEARCHERS TO SHARE THEIR WORK AND LEARN ABOUT CUTTING EDGE ADVANCES IN THE FIELD, AND THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY: MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND CONTROL (CNB-MAC 2022) WILL BE HELD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ON AUGUST 7, 2022. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT CONFERENCE TRAVEL FOR AT LEAST EIGHT GRADUATE STUDENTS TO CNB-MAC. STUDENTS WILL GAIN FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF RECENT ADVANCES IN COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY, WHICH CAN HAVE A LONG-LASTING IMPACT ON THEIR OWN RESEARCH CAREER. STUDENTS WILL ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT AND DISCUSS THEIR OWN RESEARCH FINDINGS, RECEIVING FEEDBACK AND MENTORING FROM ESTABLISHED RESEARCHERS. NEW THIS YEAR, CNB-MAC WILL HAVE EVENTS TO FOSTER NETWORKING AND COLLABORATION AMONG ATTENDEES. ATTENDING CNB-MAC THROUGH TRAVEL SUPPORT FROM THIS AWARD WILL PROVIDE GRADUATE STUDENTS VALUABLE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY COMMUNITY. THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY: MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND CONTROL (CNB-MAC 2022) WILL BE HELD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ON AUGUST 7, 2022. THE WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD ALONGSIDE ACM?S CONFERENCE ON BIOINFORMATICS, COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY, AND HEALTH INFORMATICS, WHICH IS THE FLAGSHIP CONFERENCE OF THE ACM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP IN BIOINFORMATICS. CNB-MAC AIMS TO PROVIDE AN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM FOR PRESENTING RECENT ADVANCES IN COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY AND BOOST THE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF RIGOROUS MATHEMATICAL MODELING IN TRANSFORMING BIG BIOMEDICAL DATA INTO REPRODUCIBLE AND MEANINGFUL SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. CNB-MAC SOLICITS ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS THAT REPORT NEW RESEARCH FINDINGS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE, HIGHLIGHT ABSTRACTS THAT PRESENT ADVANCES IN THE FIELD THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN RECENT JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS, AND POSTER ABSTRACTS FOR RAPID DISSEMINATION OF THE LATEST RESEARCH RESULTS IN COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY. CNB-MAC WORKSHOPS ARE AN EXCELLENT VENUE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS WORKING IN COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY TO SHARE IDEAS AND GET INVOLVED IN DEEP SCHOLARLY DISCUSSIONS, THEREBY ULTIMATELY CONTRIBUTING TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE FIELD OF COMPUTATIONAL NETWORK BIOLOGY. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT TRAVEL TO CNB-MAC FOR AT LEAST EIGHT GRADUATE STUDENTS, PROVIDING ESSENTIAL NETWORKING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE TRAVEL AWARDEES. TRAVEL SUPPORT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE, ESPECIALLY FOR STUDENTS FROM INSTITUTIONS WHERE THEIR MENTORS ARE UNABLE TO PAY FOR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL. 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.

FY 2016 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP MML/NCNR

ELECTION SCIENCES WORKSHOP

FY 2014 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - MML/NCNR/CHEMBIO

FY 2013 NIST SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - MML/NCNR MAT SCI

FY 2012 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (SURF) - EL

FY 2018 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP ITL