This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant under the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) program (CFDA 47.079) provides $450,000 in funding to Brown University from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2027. The grant supports a research project that explores the neurobiological basis of elaborate display evolution in frogs endemic to the Asian tropics. The project will train 6 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student from the U.S. to conduct integrative laboratory and field research in Austria and India over a 10-week summer program. Student activities will focus on investigating how adaptive cognitive traits and motor circuits in the spinal cord influence the evolution of visual communication signals in these frog species. The project also includes developing conservation exhibits for a local zoo in Vienna, Austria. Through this international collaborative research and training experience, the grant aims to prepare U.S. students to join the global STEM workforce in ecology and evolutionary biology.
Additionally, the project includes a sub-award to Smith College to support the involvement of their students in the international research experiences. The sub-award will cover travel, fieldwork, and laboratory work, as well as post-trip evaluation and research dissemination activities.
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