NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Broadening participation of Native Americans in STEM fields by investigating pulmonary adaptations among marine mammals

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The broad objective of this research project is to investigate how the lungs of marine mammals have adapted to ocean life using medical imaging and fluid dynamics simulations.

Many marine mammals completely empty and fill their huge lungs quickly at the surface, rapidly transporting large volumes of air. During diving their lungs must either resist the high pressure or collapse and re-inflate at the surface without injury. Changes in lung shape may alter gas mixing and blood-gas exchange.

These investigations will provide insights into marine mammal evolution, and lung structure and function, leading to advances in respiratory fluid simulations. The fellow will leverage cultural connections between Coastal Salish persons and marine mammals to broaden the impact of the work. Broadening participation activities include outreach to the Coastal Salish community, showcasing the science at summer camps and mentorship programs, to increase interest and retention of Native American students in STEM.

The fellow will use computed tomography, computational fluid dynamics and plesmography to characterize the structure and function of marine mammal lungs. Specifically, a range of pinnipeds and cetaceans will be investigated to ask: (1) How does airway geometry evolve with maximum diving depth and mode of surface ventilation? (2) What morphology corresponds to airways that resist vs. deform during airway collapse, and what ecological traits are related to the type of airway collapse? (3) How do the pulmonary airflow patterns of marine mammals differ from terrestrial mammals and vary with ventilatory mode and habitual or maximum diving depth?

The fellow will utilize cultural connections between Coastal Salish persons and marine mammals to promote participation of groups underrepresented in biology by (1) recruiting Native America students into STEM education through interactive lung biology activities at pre-established camps and summer science programs; (2) increasing STEM outcomes for current Native American students by partnering with the Aboriginal Undergraduate Mentoring program to mentor students on the project and; (3) increase connections with Native American communities outside of the academy through collaborative symposia held at the First Nations Longhouse and Xwi7xwa library on campus and a collaborative natural history museum exhibit.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.