This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY2003. The goal of the fellowship is to increase the participation of minority scientists at the postdoctoral level and to prepare them for positions of scientific leadership in academia and industry. To attain this goal, the fellowship provides opportunities for postdoctoral training and research of the highest quality to recent doctoral recipients. It is expected that Fellows supported through these fellowships will play important roles in training of the future workforce.
The research and training plan is entitled "The role of actin-microtubule interactions in cell motility." All of the molecules mediating microtubule-actin interactions and how they are regulated are largely unknown. This research project is identifying proteins that can simultaneously crosslink microtubules and F-actin and characterizing their role in cell locomotion, which is essential for understanding the mechanisms underlying critical biological processes such as embryogenesis, developmental growth, and tissue repair and maintenance.
