This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biological Informatics for FY 2005. The fellowship supports research and training at the postdoctoral level at the intersection of biology and the informational, computational, mathematical, and statistical sciences. The goal of the fellowship is to provide training to a young scientist in preparation for a career in biological informatics in which research and education will be integrated. There is an increasing need for training in biological informatics at all occupational levels, and it is expected that Fellows trained through these fellowships will play important roles in training the future workforce.
The research and training plan for this fellowship is entitled "A universal approach for identifying previous hybridization events." Methods for reconstructing the history of life assume that evolution occurs through divergence. However, it's known that evolutionary branches sometimes converge as a consequence of interspecies hybridization, but there are no reliable methods for detecting earlier hybridization events. This research is developing and testing a reliable approach for the identification of hybridization using linkage disequilibrium and phylogenetic incongruence using North American sunflowers as an experimental system. Also, simulation studies are being performed to evaluate the conditions under which the method will be successful and the sampling strategies that offer the most power for detecting hybrid lineages.
In addition to solving a fundamental biological problem, this fellowship enhances training in phylogenetic theory, statistical methodology and simulation techniques. The skills learned and collaborations cultivated over the tenure of this fellowship will be utilized in building a diverse research program in the biological sciences.
