NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2001

Downes, Gerald B, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY2001. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare minority scientists for positions of scientific leadership in academia and industry. To attain this goal, the fellowship provides opportunities for postdoctoral training of the highest quality to recent doctoral recipients. This program is an effort by the NSF to increase the number of research scientists from underrepresented minority groups, thereby contributing to the future vitality of the Nation's scientific enterprise. It is expected that Fellows trained through these fellowships will play important roles in training of the future workforce. The research and training plan for this fellowship is entitled "Genetic analysis of spinal cord circuit formation in the zebrafish embryo." Large-scale genetic screens have revealed zebrafish motility mutants that abnormally contract muscles on the left and right sides simultaneously, suggesting a disruption of spinal cord circuits that coordinate motor output. The goal of this research is to examine these mutants to elucidate the precise cellular and molecular events required for spinal cord circuit formation.