Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biological Informatics for FY 2005

Ries Leslie, Chevy Chase MD

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biological Informatics for FY 2005. The fellowship supports research and training at the postdoctoral level at the intersection of biology and the informational, computational, mathematical, and statistical sciences. The goal of the fellowship is to provide training to a young scientist in preparation for a career in biological informatics in which research and education will be integrated. There is an increasing need for training in biological informatics at all occupational levels, and it is expected that Fellows trained through these fellowships will play important roles in training the future workforce. The research and training plan for this fellowship is entitled "Changes in North American butterfly distributions in response to climate and land-use change." Global biodiversity declines and shifts in species' ranges are strong evidence of the widespread impacts of human activity, but the challenges of uncovering patterns and determining root causes are daunting, and large-scale, long-term data sets rarely exist. The 4th of July Butterfly Counts is a nationwide program that has grown over the past 30 years so that currently over 500 sites in North America are monitored each year by a network of volunteers. This project uses these data to determine if there are any general declines or range shifts in butterfly species distributions throughout North America and if there are certain groups of species that seem especially vulnerable to environmental changes. In addition to the value of the research, the fellowship permits the Fellow to expand her interdisciplinary expertise while building new skills and developing partnerships with researchers in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology, thus preparing her for independent research in spatial ecology and conservation. Additionally, the fellowship provides for developing the best ways to communicate these types of results to policy makers and the general public.