NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2018

Salcedo Mary, Somerville MA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Insects can be thought of as tiny pumping machines, circulating hemolymph (insect blood) through active mechanisms (pulsing hearts) and passive elements (wings). Little is known about how insects create an internal circulatory flow. However, the efficiency and delivery of blood throughout the insect is critical for locomotion, immune functions, oxygen delivery and waste management. This research informs basic, yet less-studied functions of insect physiology. By understanding a complex system of circulation, this knowledge is also applicable to several fields. For agriculture use, this research can quantify how quickly pesticides reach important organs in insects. For biomedical and microfluidic uses, this research can apply insect circulatory flow principles to make efficient devices. This award equips the fellow with advanced training in engineering and hands-on teaching and lesson plan development. The fellow, trained in field biology and insect biomechanics will utilize their training to bring active-learning lessons to classrooms of underrepresented high school students and college students at Virginia Tech. Continuous flow of hemolymph within insect bodies and wings ensure that living tissue, sensory structures remain functional. This research investigates how the integration of active (pulsing insect hearts) and passive (structural features, wing venation) influences the efficacy of the insect circulatory system and how these components influence overall internal flow. The fellow will use the North American grasshopper (Schistocerca americana), the darkling beetle (Zophobas morio), and the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). These species are widely-studied and span a broad size range. First, the fellow will quantify hemolymph velocity within the wing circulatory network. Using x-ray visualization at the Advanced Photon Source to visualize blood movement and fiber optic pressure sensors to measure fluid pressures during active heart pumping, the fellow will describe internal flow movement. Secondly, to understand hemolymph?s biophysical properties and interactions with soft pumps (insect hearts) and rigid walls (exoskeleton), this fellow will partner with researchers at Clemson University to build a micro-rheology system at Virginia Tech, that determines hemolymph viscosity. Lastly, in order to package this information for future use in insect physiology, agriculture and biomedical device design, the fellow will create 3D mathematical models of the insect fluidic system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.