Minority PostdDoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2007

Glater Elizabeth E, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2007. 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 US science. 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 "Genetic basis of natural variation in the olefactory behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans." The free-living soil nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, can use olfaction to discriminate among species of bacteria, which are its major food source. This research examines the variation in bacterial preferences of wild strains of C. elegans isolated from different regions and determines the genetic basis of this variation. This project will provide insight into mechanisms of olfactory preference behavior as well as the evolution of behavior. The sponsoring scientist is Cornelia I. Bargmann at the Rockefeller University. The training goals are to learn behavioral assays and their analysis, a range of genetic techniques, and the neurobiology of the model system C. elegans.