NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

Farina Stacy C, Winthrop MA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow to take transformative approaches to grand challenges in biology that employ biological collections in highly innovative ways. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Stacy C. Farina is "Virtual fish gills: Modeling flow through microscopic structures of gills from a variety of oceanic fishes." The host institution for this fellowship is Harvard University, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. George Lauder. The gills are some of the most important structures in fish physiology as the primary site of gas and ion exchange. They are comprised of long filaments covered with microscopic plates of tissue. These plates provide a large amount of surface area for exchange of gases and ions with the environment. They also act as biological "microfluidic devices" by passively directing water flowing through them. Fishes are incredibly diverse, particularly in the ocean: from fast-moving fishes that make global migrations, to deep-sea fishes that spend their lives in complete darkness. There is substantial variation in the microscopic anatomy of the gills among these diverse species. The fellowship research investigates variation in gill structure using specimens from the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) and nano-computed tomography (nano-CT) imaging to examine gill morphology of species from a variety of oceanic habitats. These scans are used to create three-dimensional virtual models of gills which are then tested using computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis simulations. These simulations predict the effects of gill morphology on hydrodynamics and oxygen uptake. Specimen data from the MCZ online database, including date, locality, and depth, are vital for determining parameters for simulations. Understanding variation in gills provides answers to fundamental questions in fish physiology and biomechanics, including whether there is trade-off between increased surface area for respiration and decreased resistance to water pumped across the gills. Research results are applicable to design of microfluidic devices by engineers. Training goals include gaining expertise in some of the most advanced techniques for morphological visualization and computer modeling, for example, creating and analyzing nano-CT models of anatomy. Broader impacts include multi-media contributions to the publically-accessible MCZ online database, such as images, movies of rotating nano-CT scans, and files for 3D printing. Educational outreach includes a new workshop at the Harvard Museum of Natural History entitled "Life Underwater: The Amazing Adaptations of Fishes for Aquatic Life," for 6-12th graders, incorporating videos of CT scans of gills and other structures. Outreach activites are also directed to undergraduate students and the engineering community.