NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2016

Wright April M, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2016, 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 April Wright is "Building a time-calibrated tree of ants using the fossilized birth-death process." The host institutions for this fellowship is Iowa State University and the Field Museum of Natural History, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Tracy Heath (Iowa State) and Carrie Moreau (Field Museum). This project uses the Field Museum's extensive collection of ant fossils to estimate both the phylogeny (evolutionary tree) of ants and the timescale of their evolution. Ants are an important presence in the most terrestrial ecosystems, providing vital ecosystem services of ecological and agricultural relevance. An estimate of the phylogeny of ants forms the basis for comparative studies of every aspect of their biology. The newest methods for inferring the timescale for evolution use the fossil record much more efficiently than previous approaches, making them more powerful and precise than older methods. However, these new techniques have not been thoroughly tested. In this project, the Fellow is evaluating the state-of-the-art methods for estimating the timing of evolutionary events, in order to generate recommendations on how to best perform these analyses. This project will involve building software to analyze the phylogenetic data, which will be made freely available. The Fellow is receiving advanced training in computational biology, including experience with C/C++ programming and software development. Furthermore, the Fellow is using the knowledge gained through these training activities to engage in outreach activities to women and underrepresented minorities. Thus, the Fellow is teaching workshops on computational biology at both host institutions, through the networks afforded by her supervising scientists, including the Field Museum Women in Science group and the Iowa State Women in Science and Engineering group.