NRT-URoL: A Convergent Training Program on Biological Control

Living systems have a remarkable ability to self-regulate and adapt by using feedback to respond to their ever-changing environment. For example, bacteria migrate towards food sources by responding to chemicals they sense in their surroundings, and bones and muscles increase their size and density in response to exercise. Understanding and harnessing these abilities of native biological systems, and creating new systems empowered with these abilities, could revolutionize how we analyze and engineer numerous aspects of our world.

This vision is the focus of the emerging field of biological control which combines study of the engineering principles of feedback control with investigations of the diverse array of self-regulating systems in biology. At present, educational and research opportunities in biological control are limited to ad hoc collaborations whose scale is insufficient to meet the growing workforce demand in biotechnology, manufacturing, robotics, systems engineering, data science, rehabilitation, bioremediation, agriculture, and sustainability.

As such, the goal of this National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Boston University is to develop, implement, and test a first-of-its-kind graduate training program in biological control. The project anticipates training approximately 75 Ph.D. students, including 27 NRT-funded trainees, drawn from mechanical, biomedical and electrical engineering, biology, physics, chemistry, bioinformatics, biochemistry, data sciences, and health sciences.

This program will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to decipher the rules by which biological systems use feedback control and to use those rules to control and synthesize natural, engineered, and biohybrid systems. The program will build on strengths of 10 existing graduate programs at Boston University and many professional development resources.

This NRT program includes: (A) newly designed, program-specific courses and bootcamps that use sequences of case studies, technical instruction, and team-based projects to develop a common language and shared body of technical skills in the fundamental underpinnings of biological control; (B) workshops and related events timed throughout the course of the student’s training that focus on development of specific professional skills (communication, ethics, teamwork), networking, and community building; (C) co-mentored, transdisciplinary thesis research in the field of biological control; and (D) internships with external partners in an array of workforce sectors. The program will recruit students broadly at the national level, using avenues such as diversity conferences, information sessions hosted nationally by Boston University’s Newbury Center for first-generation students, and direct outreach to diverse communities of undergraduate and master’s students.

Using evidence-based practices in mentoring and professional development, the program will build an inclusive community that prioritizes student growth, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging—all factors known to improve graduate retention in science and engineering. Program evaluation will include short- and longer-term outcomes in research, education, integration of research and education, professional development, and inclusion, at both individual and institutional levels.

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.  

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.