This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports a novel graduate program in Reverse Ecology, training Ph.D. students at the interface of computational biology, genomics and environmental science. It leverages new education and research collaborations between Brown University and the Marine Biological Laboratories.
Reverse Ecology is the application of genomic approaches to living systems to uncover the genetic bases of functional variation in nature. The revolution in high-throughput DNA sequencing and gene expression technologies redefines the notion of a "model" organism. Interrogation of genomes from animals, plants and microbial communities can identify genetic markers of processes at multiple scales: ecological, physiological, developmental, and transcriptional. The full interpretation of these powerful datasets demands intellectual dialogue between ecosystems ecologists, microbial geneticists, biogeochemists, and computational biologists. The program will train a cohort of Ph.D.s who can apply these technologies creatively to convert genomic and computational power into novel insights of organismal function in nature. Program highlights include 1) a year-long immersion course focused at Long Term Ecological Research sites where students design an experiment, use high-throughput genomic and computational strategies to test hypotheses and prepare multi-authored manuscripts for publication; 2) jointly mentored research rotations where students and faculty cross disciplinary boundaries; and 3) career training integrating grant writing, public speaking, ethics, diversity and international perspectives on science. This graduate program's research themes include 1) microbial and comparative genomics; 2) genetic responses to environmental stressors; 3) assembling genomes from environmental samples, and will engage IBM and the J. Craig Venter Institute in creating a new model for graduate education. Students will be trained in the context of university, institutional, and corporate environments to become leaders in the identification and integration of scientific questions across formerly distant disciplines.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
