NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

Martinez Ciera C, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Ciera Martinez is "Using comparative genomics to reveal how non-coding enhancer sequences evolve and maintain function in directing gene activity." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of California, Berkeley and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Michael Eisen. As it becomes cheaper and quicker to sequence the genomes of organisms and more sophisticated informatics tools make analysis more meaningful, some of the more intractable questions about the intricacies of regulation of genetic mechanisms can be posed and answered. While it is relatively straight forward to recognize some areas of the genomes as genes with their easily recognizable syntax of coding for amino acids, the patterning of non-coding regulatory regions, such as enhancer sequences, is still very much a mystery. There is much to be learned about evolution of an organism through a better understanding of these enhancer sequences. Drosophila (fruit flies) are the model organism of choice for molecular genetic studies such as this. The fellowship research involves sequencing or retrieving genomes of a hundred closely related Drosophila species to compare how enhancer sequences are modified during speciation by studying sequence functionality in early Drosophila embryo development. With identification of how enhancers change through time, better annotation of enhancer regions in unexplored genomic regions can be achieved. Since most genomes are made primarily of non-coding regions, distinguishing enhancer regions allows better utilization of the ever-accumulating genomic sequence data from all organisms. Training goals include acquiring expertise in bioinformatics and attending several training courses on statistical analysis, computational science, and population genetics. Educational outreach is focused on a three-day course on introductory programming and genomics at community colleges that have over 50 percent minority populations. The course material is being made freely available online for other instructors and interested individuals.