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 identification and functional analysis of brain patterning genes during the embryonic development of the amphipod crustacean, Parhyale hawaiensis." Significant differences exist in brain and head structure between insects and their sister taxon, the crustaceans. A small number of transcription factors play a major role in the specification of the Drosophila supraesophageal ganglia. These include the 'head gap genes' tailless (tll), orthodenticle (otd), and empty spiracles (ems). The aim of this study is the characterization of the functional roles of tll, otd, and ems during embryonic development of the supraesophageal brain neuromeres of Parhyale.
