Vertically Integrated Partners (VIP) Program
May 21-July 27, 2012
The 2011 Vertical Integration Partners (VIP) Program is a 10-week program that provides 10 Duke undergraduates with support for a summer of research in the Biomedical Sciences with the theme of Inquiry Across Scale: From Genes to Cognition. Participants receive a $5,500 stipend.
There will be 5 VIP research teams in summer 2012:
Psychoneuroimmunology (Staci Bilbo and Cagla Eroglu)
Genetic and Physiological Regulation of Body Size (Ryan Baugh and Fred Nijhout)
Neural Mechanisms of Decision-Making (Scott Huettel and Nancy Zucker)
Primate Genomics and the Evolution of Diet (Christine Wall and Greg Wray)
Molecular Biology and Evolution of Olfactory Circuits (Pelin Volkan and Uwe Ohler)
Each team has two undergraduates. Students can apply from any major, with priority given to rising juniors and seniors. Students may not participate in this program after graduation.
Applications for 2012 will open on December 1, 2011.
Nijhout-Reed VIP Team 2007
2012 VIP Program Projects
1. Psychoneuroimmunology
This VIP team, directed by Staci Bilbo (Neurobiology) and Cagla Eroglu (Neurobiology), focuses on the mechanisms by which early-life events (e.g., stressors, infection, or trauma) may permanently “program” adult cognitive and affective abilities. Students will explore the molecular mechanisms by which glia (e.g., astrocytes and microglia) influence neurons and synapto-genesis within the developing brain, and the cellular and behavioral mechanisms by which bacterial infection early in life leads to vulnerability to cognitive impairments in adulthood. Key to this project is the analysis of cellular function from an integrated and cross-disciplinary perspective, using behavioral, systems, and molecular techniques from psychology, neuroscience, immunology, and cell biology.
2. Genetic and Physiological Regulation of Body Size
This VIP team, directed by Fred Nijhout (Biology) and Mike Reed (Mathematics), will combine methods and approaches that operate at different scales – from genetic-molecular to physiological-organismal – with mathematical modeling to learn how body size is controlled. Students will use C. elegans and M. sexta as model systems to explore the molecular mechanisms by which nutrition and insulin signaling regulate cell growth, and the cellular mechanisms, e.g., mitosis, apoptosis and migration, by which the sizes and shapes of tissues are established. The goal is to understand the mechanisms that influence body size and the processes by which the growth of tissues and organs are regulated so they achieve a correct relationship to the body.
3. Neural Mechanisms and Decision Making
This VIP team project, directed by Nancy Zucker (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences) and Scott Huettel (Psychology & Neuroscience), will investigate whether the tendency to make risky decisions can be predicted by understanding individual differences in genes linked to risky behavior and in brain responses to risky rewards. The team will extend present studies using fMRI assessment of brain responses to study changes in decision-making behavior in children over time. In parallel, team members will also manipulate risky decision making in animals with different genetically determined brain chemistry.
4. Primate Genomics
This VIP team, directed by Greg Wray (Biology) and Christine Wall (Evolutionary Anthropology), will investigate changes in genome sequence and function associated with the evolution of human diet. Dietary adaptations unique to humans are quite diverse, including changes in tooth and jaw anatomy, taste and odorant receptors, digestive processes, the allocation of energy among tissues, and behavior. The faculty leaders are currently working to understand how these changes evolved, beginning by identifying the genes responsible, and then understanding how specific mutations in these genes alter molecular and cellular functions, thereby affecting organismal traits such as morphology, physiology, and behavior. This project will use methods from very different areas of the biological sciences, including genomics, bioinformatics, medicine, and evolutionary anthropology.
5. Molecular Biology and Evolution of Olfactory Circuits
Changes in the patterns of olfactory circuits can underlie adaptation to new habitats, mate selection, and drive speciation. This VIP team, directed by Pelin Volkan (Biology) and Uwe Ohler (IGSP) will focus on morphological differences in receptor expression and wiring patterns of olfactory receptor neurons in the nervous system of a number of Drosophila species at the cellular level. The team will explore how the identity of thousands of chemicals are perceived by odorant receptors, encoded in sensory neurons, and the mechanisms by which the genes that control this receptor machinery have evolved. They will survey patterns of nucleotide diversity within odorant receptor genes and in their regulatory sequences between Drosophila species to test various hypotheses, including the possible involvement of natural selection in driving their evolution.