This Project Grant award of $995,173 from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports collaborative research on myogenesis (muscle formation) in birds and mammals. The University of Delaware is the sole awardee and will use this funding to conduct an integrated analysis of gene and allelic expression, along with metabolite levels, to identify gene and metabolic regulatory networks critical to muscle development. The research aims to reveal genetic effects...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Polar Programs (CFDA 47.078) Project Grant award of $358,622 to the University of Illinois from March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2026 aims to characterize the evolution of proteins that integrate signals of warming, changing pH, and oxidation in the sensory systems of three species of Arctic and sub-Arctic fish. The research will provide insight into the sensitivity and responses of these fish to climate change through the generation and analysis of...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) provides $240,000 in funding over 3 years starting September 1, 2024. The award supports a postdoctoral research fellowship to investigate the genomic basis and evolutionary implications of long-distance migration in shorebirds. The research aims to: 1) identify genome regions involved in adaptation for extreme migratory behaviors, and 2) evaluate how the demands of long-distance...
The National Science Foundation Division of Integrative Organismal Systems awarded a $980,000 Project Grant to The Washington University to support research examining neuronal plasticity and the evolvability of behavior through September 2026. Funded under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), this award will allow researchers to test the hypothesis that activity-dependent wiring changes in response to altered sensory feedback drive coordinated modifications between peripheral organs...
This $970,670 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) will fund research on how the sensory system of taste evolves in different fish populations. The researchers at the University of Cincinnati will examine genetic sequences, taste receptor distribution, and environmental chemistry to understand how fish have adapted their taste systems to survive in diverse aquatic habitats, including river/stream and cave environments. By...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $494,261 Project Grant under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) to conduct research on frog skin evolution and adaptations. The project aims to: 1) quantify how frog skin has evolved over the past 200 million years in response to abiotic and biotic factors, 2) experimentally test the ability of anuran skin to decouple respiration and water loss, and 3) incorporate...
This Project Grant award of $270,000 from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports a 3-year postdoctoral research fellowship to investigate the genetic and mechanistic bases of rapid phenotypic evolution in birds. The research focuses on understanding the evolution of structural white feather coloration, which is produced by organized microscopic structures rather than pigments. The project aims to (1) characterize how structural white coloration is...
This National Science Foundation Project Grant award of $276,000 provides funding from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024 to support a postdoctoral research fellowship in biology. The fellowship, awarded under the NSF's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), will fund integrative research investigating the rules governing interactions between genomes, environments and phenotypes in innovative ways. Specifically, the fellow will conduct in vivo and in vitro testing of zebra finch...
This $298,375 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program supports a collaborative research project focused on understanding how populations evolve in complex, changing environments. The primary awardee, Virginia Tech, will conduct both experimental and theoretical work to investigate the relationships between an individual's environmental preferences, developmental processes, and patterns of phenotypic plasticity. The researchers aim to develop a...
This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $973,030 supports research into the rapid phenotypic evolution of pigmentation genes in South American seed-eating birds (genus Sporophila) through 2025. Funded under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), the award enables detailed study of the chemical, structural, and genetic mechanisms underlying color production and patterning in avian feathers. Researchers from Cornell University will analyze pigment composition, nano- and...