IRES Track 1: Neurobiology and evolution of frog dance displays in Austria and India

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

Social signals are central to animal life, mediating how individuals pick mates and compete with rivals. Understanding how these signals arise and change over time is therefore a fundamental goal of modern biology. In this IRES project, undergraduate students from around the U.S. will be trained to investigate this topic by combining cutting-edge techniques in fields of neuroscience, behavior, and computational biology. Specifically, participants will train with leading PIs that are part of an international research team that takes an integrative approach to studying how the nervous systems controls complex behavioral traits, as well as the way modifications to these physiological systems can support signal innovation. The program will recruit a total of 6 students per year, with a strong emphasis on selecting both FirstGen and underrepresented minority students. Participants will then work abroad in Austria and India for a 10-week period during the summer in the laboratory and field to conduct team-led research and independent research. This experience will be bookended with pre- and post-travel training to hone the students’ technical and cultural training, while providing extensive career preparation from a diverse set of mentors. In this way, we will focus on building skills related not only to scientific acumen, but also international proficiency and awareness. Our program therefore promises to fulfill the goals of the IRES program by producing college graduates who are ready to join the global STEM workforce in the 21st century. International research collaborations are vital to biology, laying the groundwork for major discoveries that cross disciplinary lines and uncover principles about the diversity of life. However, undergraduate students from the U.S. often experience significant hurdles that prevent them from participating in such collaborative work. This is especially a problem for students from historically underrepresented groups, including both FirstGen students and underrepresented minority students. As a result, many undergraduates are ill-prepared to join the modern global STEM workforce. We therefore propose a program to address this issue by bringing 6 undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups and 1 graduate student each year to Austria and India, where they will participate in a 10-week experience studying the physiological basis of display evolution in frogs. They will conduct research in large teams and independently to investigate adaptations to motor control systems that underlying social signaling behavior. They will also use advanced phylogenetic comparative methods to track how these motor systems change over time to support the diversification and elaboration of signaling behavior in frogs. Participation in the project involves working closely with PIs in Austria and India, where our species of interests are found. It also involves combining elements of laboratory work and field work to address fundamental questions about how social signals work in physiological and functional contexts. Accordingly, students who participate in this IRES project will be given the chance to not only address fundamental questions in the field of biology, but also do so in an international context that helps prepare them for STEM careers in a global landscape. 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.