11/02/2012

Grand Challenges in Organismal Biology

by Jane Silverthorne, NSF, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems

DATE:   Friday, November 2nd, 2012
LOCATION: Genomics Auditorium, RM 1102A
TIME: 10:10 am

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) supports research aimed at understanding why organisms are structured the way they are and function as they do. The research supported by IOS focused on organisms as a fundamental unit of biological organization, using systems approaches that will lead to conceptual and theoretical insights and predictions about emergent organismal properties.  Areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to, developmental biology and the evolution of developmental processes, nervous system development, structure, and function, physiological processes, functional morphology, symbioses, interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic environments, plant genomics, and animal behavior.

Organismal biology is undergoing a transformation brought about by new research resources, technologies and computational tools. Long-standing questions about the evolution and development of organisms and the bases for emergent properties are receiving renewed attention as the grand challenges in organismal biology are defined and tackled by a diverse research community. In this talk, I will discuss community efforts to define the grand challenges in organismal biology and some of the resulting opportunities for discovery, learning, broadening participation, and engaging the broader public.

Dr. Silverthorne received her B.Sc. degree in Biology from the University of Sussex, Brighton, England and the Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Warwick.  Her research training is in the area of plant biology and her research has focused on the role of the phytochrome system in regulating plant growth and development. Dr. Silverthorne came to the National Science Foundation in 1999 as a Program Director from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she served as Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.  She subsequently accepted a permanent Program Director position in 2003 and served as a Cluster leader responsible for the management of the Plant Genome Program in the Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI). Between November 2006 and March 2008, Dr. Silverthorne was on detail at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Life Sciences.  In November 2007, Dr. Silverthorne was appointed Acting Deputy Director for DBI, and she became Deputy Director in December 2008.   In June 2009, she moved to the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems where she currently serves as the Division Director.