NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2016

Postdoctoral Fellow: Ashley Chin-Baarstad

Proposal Number: 1612126

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2016, 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. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Ashley Chin-Baarstad is 'The epigenome of complex gonadal differentiation in a cichlid.' The host institution for this fellowship is North Carolina State University, and the sponsoring scientist is Reade Roberts.

The goal of this study is to elucidate the role of genome-wide epigenetic changes in the determination of gender. Genetic and environmental triggers can affect the developmental processes that produce distinct males and females. In particular, epigenetic mechanisms can regulate gene expression and provide organisms with the ability to integrate genomic and environmental information. While epigenetic regulation is implicated in gender-specific organ development, it remains unknown if that regulation ultimately influences whether an individual is male or female, or if it stems from genes. This study will provide a genome-wide assay of epigenetic changes, assessing different genomic regions, tissue types, and gender-specific phenotypic traits, using the fish species Astatotilapia burtoni. This species has multiple genes determining male versus female developmental patterns, resulting in four gender-specific genotypes and two phenotypes (male and female). By identifying histone marks across the genome, the Fellow is determining if the epigenome is shaped by simply being male versus female or by genders-specifying genes. The Fellow is also testing how variation in epigenetic regulatory mechanisms is related to gene expression differences. This study is generating the first epigenome of A. burtoni, an ideal study system for ongoing and future ecological and evolutionary studies. This research is contributing genome resources to the scientific community for broad comparative work of male versus female determination, epigenetics, and gene regulation/expression.

The training and career advancement activities of this project are preparing the Fellow for a research career merging the areas of phenotypic variation and genomics, by providing her with experiences that blend advanced sequencing methodologies with evolutionary and functional hypothesis testing. The Fellow is serving as a role model to women and minorities, and is broadening the diversity of her mentor's lab by training undergraduates and graduates from underrepresented groups. The Fellow is conveying her research findings to the community via outreach activities at local colleges (Meredith College, a women's college, and Shaw University, a historically black college), public events, and at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. These experiences are developing the Fellow's ability to communicate to the general public about how and why scientists study genetics. Additionally, the Fellow is integrating her research activities into science education via the Kenan Fellows Program at NC State, a professional advancement program that provides K-12 teachers with mentored research. During summers, the Fellow works closely with a teacher to develop a lesson plan for state schools, and the educational materials generated from these lesson plans are being made online. Outreach activities involving the Kenan Fellows Program and NC Museum of Natural Sciences broadly serve the region, including the rapidly growing population of ethnic minorities in North Carolina.