Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2004

Pritchett Matthew A, San Diego CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial biology for FY2004. 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 their 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 "Mechanisms of Transcriptional Activation and Repression in a methanoarchaeon." The first step of protein synthesis in all organisms is transcription but it differs among the three domains of life: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. It is the interaction of several proteins required for transcription that is being investigated in an environmentally abundant but heretofore understudied group of microorganisms.