Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Informatics for FY 2003

Langham, Gary M, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Interdisciplinary Informatics are sponsored jointly by the Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and Biological Sciences (BIO) to encourage research and training that cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries between them. These fellowships provide opportunities for interdisciplinary research and educational activities in biology and informatics to a wide range of recent doctoral recipients (biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, statisticians, computer scientists, and others). It is expected that the Fellows trained through these fellowships will play an important role in training the future workforce. Postdoctoral research and training in informatics will permit junior scientists trained in biology, mathematical, chemical, and physical sciences to play key roles in developing new quantitative tools and methods that will advance informatics in biology and other fields. The research and training plan is entitled "Modeling current and historical habitat fragmentation effects on genetic diversity in vertebrates of Australia's wet tropics." Two modelling approaches are being used to compare historical connectivity and current genetic structure among four vertebrate species. This project compares models of paleodistribution and current genetic structure using nested-clade and coalescent approaches while creating predictive cost-surface models and comparing patterns of local genetic structure using graph theory.