Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2004

Lopez-Dee Zenaida P, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2004. The goal of the fellowship is to increase the participation of minority scientists at the postdoctoral level and to prepare them for positions of scientific leadership in academia and industry. To attain this goal, the fellowship provides opportunities for postdoctoral training and research of the highest quality to recent doctoral recipients. It is expected that Fellows supported through these fellowships will play important roles in training of the future workforce. The research and training plan is entitled "Zeroing in on the tissues of the rice ovule by gene expression profiling using microarray analysis mediated by laser microdissection." The rice ovule harbors the female archesporial cell that gives rise to the 7-celled female gametophyte. Laser capture microdissection is being used to isolate discrete regions of the rice ovule; and RNA from these microdissected tissues is used for microarray experiments. Microarray analyses of the rice ovule can greatly contribute to the identification of genes essential to increased productivity of various rice cultivars. The Fellow's research capability will be enhanced in plant developmental biology, functional genomics, and bioinformatics. She will also receive training in sophisticated genomic technologies: laser-capture microdissection and microarrays.