Area:
Molecular Biology, Sex Determination, Transcription Regulation
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High-probability grants
According to our matching algorithm, Robert Literman is the likely recipient of the following grants.
Years |
Recipients |
Code |
Title / Keywords |
Matching score |
2013 — 2016 |
Valenzuela, Nicole [⬀] Literman, Robert |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Dissertation Research: the Genome-Wide Occupancy and Thermosensitivity of Histone Variant H2a.Z in Embryonic Chrysemys Picta, a Turtle With Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination
In most animals, the sex of the offspring is determined by its genetic constitution (Genotypic Sex Determination, GSD) while in others it is determined by the incubation temperature during development (Temperature-dependent Sex Determination, TSD). In TSD, genes important for the formation of males or females are switched on/off depending on the temperature, but the exact molecular mechanism by which temperature operates remains unknown. The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that H2A.Z, a DNA-binding protein known to be thermosensitive in plants and fungi, is also thermosensitivity in TSD vertebrates and responsible for making the DNA more or less accessible to activation, thus translating the temperature signal into differential gene expression. Using the painted turtle Chrysemys picta (TSD) and Next-Generation DNA Sequencing technology, the location and thermosensitivity of H2A.Z binding to DNA will be mapped across the turtle genome.
This project proposes a novel hypothesis about how animals sense and respond to temperature, which if true, could transform our understanding both how sex is determined in TSD vertebrates, and how temperature affects overall vertebrate development. This project provides many opportunities for undergraduate research, and both the PI and Co-PI are committed to providing educational and research experiences to underrepresented groups in science. The Co-PI is also an NSF GK-12 Fellow, bringing science education to local middle school classrooms and public speaking events.
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1 |
2018 — 2020 |
Literman, Robert |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Nsf Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology Fy 2018
This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Specifically, the Fellow will develop new methods to understand how species are related. This understanding is critical to many research areas. For example, to understand how disease-causing bacteria and viruses are spread, we need to know which outbreaks are similar. Biologists determine species' relationships by looking for similarities in DNA sequences. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technology have created lots of data to compare species; however, the relationships within certain groups of species are still debated. The Fellow will develop methods to filter large DNA datasets to include only subsets useful for understanding species' relationships. This process will remove data that may be misleading. This research will help scientists across the globe to piece together the Tree of Life. Because "Big Data" work requires that researchers have strong quantitative and computer skills, the Fellow will work with URI students and faculty to develop training strategies for underrepresented biology majors to work with biological "Big Data". Embracing inclusion and diversity at the undergraduate level is important to combat the lack of diversity at higher levels of research, which is critical to fostering diverse perspectives and opportunities for all.
The Fellow will address the problem of conflicting results in estimating species' relationships in three ways. (1) Starting with whole-genome datasets, the Fellow will apply novel filtering methods to remove loci that fail to resolve well-supported clades, as these loci likely carry non-historical signal. Specifically, the Fellow will analyze data simulated under biologically-relevant conditions, and sequence data from two clades that have been a focus of numerous incongruous phylogenomic studies: mammals and birds. (2) The Fellow will test historically accepted notions regarding the informativeness of different genomic subsets (e.g. coding, non-coding, intergenic regions). (3) The Fellow will investigate how functional annotations of loci correlate with age-specific node resolution. To develop students' computational skills, the Fellow will lead workshops for existing groups of underrepresented biology students at URI. These workshops will include coding lessons that are accessible to novice students, and highlight career / internship opportunities in "Big Data" and biological data science. Students will engage with real biological data and problems, and participate in team-based exercises.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.909 |