Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2003

Henn, Matthew R, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY2003. The fellowship supports training and research on the basic biology of protozoan, microalgal, fungal, archaeal, bacterial and viral species that are not generally considered to be model organisms. Further, it provides opportunities for recent doctoral recipients to obtain additional training in microbial biology, to gain research experience under the sponsorship of established scientists, and to broaden his/her scientific horizons beyond the research experiences during the undergraduate and graduate training. These fellowships are further designed to assist new scientists to direct their research efforts across traditional disciplinary lines and to avail themselves of unique research resources, sites, and facilities, including foreign locations. The research and training plan is entitled "Linking genetic regulatory circuits to ecophysiological function in fungi that process carbon and nitrogen in forest ecosystems." This research integrates DNA gene expression profiles and compound specific isotope analyses to understand the link between genetic regulatory circuits and ecophysiological function in fungi. The symbiosis between fungi and plants is selected for study since it represents a microbial system with coordinated physiologies that encompasses multi-trophic relationships and plays a dominant role in nutrient cycling.