The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $323,642 Project Grant under the Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) federal grant program to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The award, effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2030, supports research to develop new mathematical and computational models for understanding how the complex spatial structure of biological populations, such as cancer cells, microbial colonies, and human populations, influences their evolutionary dynamics. The project aims to create open-source software and visualization tools to help researchers interpret detailed spatial datasets and study evolutionary processes in diverse areas including cancer progression, aging, and microbial ecosystems. Key objectives include modeling the role of heterogeneous spatial structure in shaping competition between beneficial mutations, understanding how populations cross rugged fitness landscapes, and quantifying how population topology affects the speed of evolutionary change. The research will introduce new metrics to analyze the impact of spatial structure on natural selection and evolutionary rates, and develop inference tools for estimating evolutionary forces from observed genetic data.
Mod # | Description | Reason For Modification | Federal Obligation (Click to sort descending) | Date (Click to sort ascending) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $323.6k | 7/15/25 |