This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the establishment of a multidisciplinary graduate training program in education and research in the field of evolutionary developmental biology. A major goal of biology is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the origin of biodiversity. A significant impediment to resolving these issues is the historical fractionation of the life sciences -- the lack of an integrated understanding of the mechanisms by which organisms obtain their form during development and by which morphological diversification originates via population-genetic mechanisms. To overcome these intellectual barriers, we are initiating an interdisciplinary training program focused on the evolution of development, to our knowledge the first of its kind. Novel aspects of our training activities include the establishment of: 1) a collaborative research-based program linking training in developmental and evolutionary biology, with a strong emphasis on genomics; 2) a formal graduate course in the evolution of development; 3) a unique dual-mentoring system involving a distinguished set of faculty in developmental and evolutionary biology; 4) an annual program of events focused on specialized areas in evolutionary developmental biology; and 5) a funding program that facilitates the involvement of minorities and off-campus students. Establishment of this program, combined with an anticipated state-funded initiative, should help define the University of Oregon as an international center in the emerging field of evolutionary developmental biology.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to facilitate the establishment of innovative, research-based graduate programs that will train a diverse group of scientists and engineers to be well-prepared to take advantage of a broad spectrum of career options. IGERT provides doctoral institutions with an opportunity to develop new, well-focussed multidisciplinary graduate programs that transcend organizational boundaries and unite faculty from several departments or institutions to establish a highly interactive, collaborative environment for both training and research. In this second year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-one institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. This specific award is supported by funds from the Directorates for Biological Sciences, for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, and for Education and Human Resources.
