nescent_ijscm day 1

TransformShareConnect

NESCentThe National Evolutionary Synthesis Center

ADDRESSINGFUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES IN

EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE


NESCent is presently funded by the NSF

NESCent is a collaborative partnership between

• Duke University

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• North Carolina State University


NESCent in Durham, North Carolina


How does one define a synthesis center? Our Mission

• NESCent promotes the synthesis of information, concepts and knowledge to address significant, emerging, or novel questions in evolutionary science and its applications.

• NESCent achieves this by supporting research and education across disciplinary, institutional, geographic, and demographic boundaries.


Sidlauskas et al (2009). Linking Big: the Continuing Promise of Evolutionary Synthesis. Evolution Volume 64, Issue 4, pages 871-880.

What is Synthesis?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.2010.64.issue-4/issuetoc

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.2010.64.issue-4/issuetoc


What is the value of a synthesis center?• As a synthesis center, NESCent’s role is to Connect, Share,

Transform


How do we build a successful research incubator?

• Goal: Foster and enable novel and transformative research so that the chances for successful funding increases

• Structure:– Interdisciplinary, self-identified teams– A neutral, physical space– A resident community– Freedom from distractions– Data reuse, not data generation– Core informatics support


NESCent as a Synthesis Center• As a synthesis center, NESCent’s role is to Connect, Share,

Transform



Transform• NESCent is an Incubator for new scientific research

– Provision of informatics resources– Provision of administrative and logistic support– Triage of high-risk science



Transform• NESCent is an Incubator for new scientific research

– Provision of informatics resources– Provision of administrative and logistic support– Triage of high-risk science

• NESCent promotes the establishment and development of Communities of Practice and Grassroots Resource Solutions– groups of individuals working in similar areas or on similar problems, and

sharing similar requirements and constraints


Education & Outreach

• Working Groups

Approaches: Core Science Programs



• Working Groups• Catalysis Meetings




• Working Groups• Catalysis Meetings• Sabbatical Scholars




• Working Groups• Catalysis Meetings• Sabbatical Scholars• Postdoctoral Scholars




• Working Groups• Catalysis Meetings• Sabbatical Scholars• Postdoctoral Scholars• Short Term Visitors




• Working Groups• Catalysis Meetings• Sabbatical Scholars• Postdoctoral Scholars• Short Term Visitors• Graduate Fellowships


TransformShareConnectPrimate Life Histories

Karen Strier (Univ. Wisconsin), Susan Alberts (Duke), 2007-2008


Develop “… a collaborative, shared database allowing analyses of irreplaceable life history data on wild primates.”



• Examples of activities:

Evolutionary Medicine Initiative


• Examples of activities:– A “mini-camp” on evolutionary biology for medical

practitioners, at NESCent




practitioners, at NESCent– A CME summer course at Mt. Desert Island, sponsored by

NESCent





NESCent– An Evolutionary Medicine symposium at Evolution 2011.





NESCent– An Evolutionary Medicine symposium at Evolution 2011.

• Working Groups on Curriculum Development for pre-med and med students



• The Perils of Being Bipedal: an Evolutionary Perspective on Human Muscoloskeletal Disorders.


Bruce Latimer (CW Reserve) and Linda Spurlock (Kent State)

Walking on extended hind limbs is the hallmark adaptation characterizing our species but it makes us vulnerable to a wide range of serious joint and soft tissue problems

…chronically sprained ankles, hernias, osteoporotic fractures of the hip, spine, and forearm, obstetric problems, knee problems, foot disorders, fatigue fractures.

Goal: develop and implement a model curriculum for medical students, create a reference website, and publish an edited volume.


• Genetics and Genealogy: Teaching Evolution and Human Diversity to Middle School Students

K-12 Evolution Education Initiative

Nina Jablonski (Penn State), Mark Shriver, Catherine Bliss, Eric Plutzer

Goal: develop a summer camp ‐curriculum for middle school students entitled, “The Peopling of the World and Me!” • Use personal history and

genealogy to introduce the principles of inheritance, modern genetics, and the evolutionary process.

• “This is a more exciting and memorable way of teaching these concepts than is the study of peas or fruitflies.”


The Social Challenge: Engineering Grassroots Resource Solutions

• Why Grassroots Solutions?– Needs-based. Community-driven identification of requirements ensures, at the outset, that there

is a real need for the tools and resources that are being developed.• Advantages:

– Buy-in. By working with people who contribute to the construction of resources, and who have a vested interest in their deployment, we overcome the social barriers to the adoption of technological resources that often plagues top-down development.

– Built-in test cases. The scientists who participate in the development of the resources will include people who want to use the prototypes in their own research. Hence, we have a ready-made pool of alpha- and beta-testers in each project.

– Re-use. The information technologists and computational biologists who work with many development teams have a high-level understanding of the resources that each group uses, as well as the potential to re-use resources.

– Sustainability. By including postdoctoral scholars and graduate students in this process, the resources that are developed take on a life of their own beyond the term of the project. This is because these emerging scientists are likely to continue to use and develop these resources.


Approaches: Custom tools for sponsored scientists

Physiological data of mammalian feeding(FEED: https://www.nescent.org/wg_feeding)

Integrating ontologies for genes, phenotypes, and evolution(PHENOSCAPE: http://phenoscape.org)

• Data archived during publication

• Easy submission process• Available to peer reviewers• Persistent link from paper to

data• Supports data citation (data

DOIs)• Open and explicit terms of

reuse• Option to embargo• Deep data indexing and

searching• Updatable datafiles• File format migration &

preservation• Governed and sustained by

journals

http://datadryad.org

National Evolutionary Synthesis Center

TransformShareConnectApproaches: Education and Outreach

Serving…

•Education Community•Science Community•General Public•Underrepresented Minorities•International Science Community

TransformShareConnectThe Darwin Day Roadshow

• NESCent scientists and education/outreach staff visit schools (K-16) and communities to talk about evolutionary science and science careers

• Targets smaller, more rural communities• 2011 – Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Virginia• 2012 – Over 100 applications from 27 states

TransformShareConnectThe NESCent AcademyNESCent Academy

• Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics• Next-gen Sequencing: data acquisition, comparative genomics,

design and analysis for population genetics, systematics and development

• Anatomy ontologies in evolutionary biology and genetics

2012 @NESCent

academy.nescent.org2011

• 2 courses @NESCent• 4 co-sponsored off-site courses• Travel awards for 22 participants from under-represented

minorities

TransformShareConnectMinority Outreach

NESCent postdoc Juan Santos works with elementary school students as part of SALSA!

NESCent postdoc Carlos Botero mentors undergraduate students at the SACNAS conference

LOCAL PROGRAMSSALSA! (Seeing and Learning

Science Afterschool)

NATIONAL PROGRAMSSACNAS (Society for the

Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science)

TransformShareConnectNESCent Ambassadors Program

• International Outreach – NESCent scientists/informatics/education staff work with local scientists and educators in developing nations

• To date: Ecuador/Galapagos, Indonesia, Madagascar• Upcoming: Caribbean, Kenya, Galapagos, Panama

Dr. Carlos Valle (USFQ) discussing finch evolution with natural history guides on San Cristobal

NESCent postdoc Peter Unmack works with Indonesian students on the island of Bali

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total No.

No. of Participants 8 159 292 557 378 512 439 785 653 622 4356

No. of Software/Datasets

1 21 25 16 8 14 34 2 121

No. of Publications 1 2 24 68 65 90 79 89 113 40 571

No. of News Coverage

4 5 45 43 65 100 25 287

No. of Catalysis Meetings

4 6 3 4 5 5 7 0 34

No. of Active Working Groups

2 9 15 17 20 22 21 15 12 55

No. of New Postdoctoral

Fellows

5 7 4 3 8 4 6 4 4 46

No. of Active Sabbatical

Scholars

4 5 1 5 3 5 5 5 5 38

No. of Courses 5 11 6 7 4 6 4 43No. of Course

Participants78 84 142 57 123 169 97 750

nescent_ijscm day 1

Education

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evolutionary science

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evolutionary biology

core science programs

groups approaches

synthesis of information