MPS-Ascend: Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Heteropolymers: Sequence Details and Coupling to Statistical Fluctuations

Phillips, Michael Robert, Denver CO

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Dr. Michael Phillips is awarded a NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Dr. Phillips supports his research entitled “MPS-Ascend: Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Heteropolymers: Sequence Details and Coupling to Statistical Fluctuations”, under the mentorship of sponsoring senior scientists. The host institution for the fellowship is University of Denver, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Kingshuk Ghosh. Theoretical techniques will be applied to predict the behavior of large, long-chain like molecules in solution with an aim to better understand how living cells work. This work extends previous models and applies them to phenomena like liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) where polymer solutions separate into high- and low-density regions. The hypothesis is that this process is important to reducing noise in the chemical circuitry that extracts information from DNA. The complex theoretical tools developed will help streamline the design of new synthetic polymers, and advance understanding of fundamental questions about physical and chemical processes in living cells and evolution. Alongside research activities, this project promotes education and diversity in STEM fields. Students from diverse backgrounds are engaged directly at the college and university levels by informational events. Those materials and methods are shared freely with K-12 educators. Students explore topics across scientific fields by working on introductory projects led by experienced researchers. Video games, music, programming, machine learning, and other tools are incorporated into the projects. Select students are offered stipends to support the time and effort spent on projects. This project advances scientific progress across several different fields. Further, a new approach to public engagement is pioneered to improve scientific understanding in the local community. In these ways, the health, prosperity, and welfare of the United States is strongly promoted. 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.