Kansas State University MAPS researchers receive award from Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the Department of Energy

Dr. Jesse Nippert and Dr. Lydia Zeglin
KSU

   The Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the Department of Energy has awarded nearly $1 million dollars to two Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) researchers from Kansas State University (KSU). Dr. Jesse Nippert, associate professor of biology at KSU and part of the MAPS plant systems focus team, and Dr. Lydia Zeglin, assistant professor of biology at KSU and part of the MAPS acquatic systems focus team, plan to combine observational, experimental and modeling approaches in an effort to enhance the predictability of ecosystem consequences related to shrub encroachment and drought in the Great Plains region. The title of their project is DE-SC001109037: Using root and soil traits to forecast woody encroachment dynamics in mesic grassland. They will also be working with collaborators Kate McCulloh, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Kevin Wilcox, assistant professor at the University of Wyoming. The team will conduct experiments and collect their data at the Konza Biological Field Station. They will use root and soil traits, taken at various soil depths, which contain microbes, water and a large amount of carbon to forecast the plant encroachment dynamics associated with grasslands that receive moderate amounts of precipitation. The data collected and the results from this project “will define the depth-resolved feedbacks of drought and dominant vegetation on below ground root architecture, soil microbial carbon cycling, and ecosystem carbon balance.”

For additional information regarding the proposal go to: DE-SC001109037
Click here for the KSU press release

ANNOUNCING MAPS First Award Funding Opportunity

     Kansas NSF EPSCoR is announcing a funding opportunity for First Awards in the areas related to the current Kansas NSF EPSCoR focus of microbiomes as broadly construed to be in aquatic, plant and/or soil systems. The First Award program helps early career faculty become competitive for funding from the research directorates at the National Science Foundation. 

The full request for proposals with submission instructions can be downloaded as a PDF at: http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/funding.html

Submission Deadlines:

     Letters of Intent due by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

     Full proposals due by 5:00 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2018 

Please note new proposal submission details included in the RFP.

Eligible to apply is any individual tenure track faculty member who:

• is currently untenured at the assistant professor rank at Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Wichita State University, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Pittsburg State University or Washburn University; 

• is within the first three years of his/her faculty appointment;

• has not received a previous First Award or similar funding from another EPSCoR or EPSCoR-like (Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence, COBRE) program in Kansas; and

• is not currently be nor previously been a lead Principal Investigator of a research grant funded by a federal agency.

In addition, one of the following conditions must apply:

• The Principal Investigator has a pending proposal or is planning to submit a proposal to the NSF (or other federal funding agency) for the proposed research submitted to this program.  If in the planning stages, the proposed research must be submitted to a federal funding agency by July 31, 2020. 

• The Principal Investigator has had the proposed research declined by the NSF (or other federal funding agency) and has a plan to re-submit the proposed research by July 31, 2020. 

Only projects with research in areas that are related to the current Kansas NSF EPSCoR focus of microbiomes as broadly construed to be in aquatic, plant and/or soil systems are eligible for First Awards.

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the MAPS first awards is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The award's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

NSF-FUNDED GRADUATE POSITIONS AT KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY IN MICROBIOMES OF AQUATIC, PLANT OR SOILS (MAPS)

     The Division of Biology at Kansas State University is recruiting diverse, highly-qualified graduate students to assist with understanding the linkages among microbiomes of aquatic, plant and soil (MAPS) ecosystems across the state ofKansas. 

The goal of MAPS is to understand:

1. How microbiome structure and function among these systems change across the precipitation gradient of Kansas and land use, and 
2. How those changes in microbiomes affect broader community and ecosystem properties. In all, the integrated and collaborative NSF-funded project is driven by >15 investigators, all of whom work collaboratively and train students in an interdisciplinary framework.

     If you are interested in developing skills in collaborative, team-based science focused on deploying cutting-edge tools in environmental microbiology and informatics, please contact the listed individuals who might serve as your graduate advisor. Students must discuss their interests with a potential advisor (by email or by scheduling a phone conversation by email) prior to submitting an application. 

• For Biology see https://www.k-state.edu/biology/grad/why.html; 
• For Agronomy see http://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/graduate/admissions/index.html; 
• For Plant Pathology see https://www.plantpath.k-state.edu/graduate/application-information/index.html).  We encourage students with experience in bioinformatics, molecular ecology, microbiology, field work and experimental design to apply. Experience working across multiple ecosystems or across environmental gradients will be preferred but not required.

Applications due by 

15 December for Fall or Summer 2019 start.

MAPS NSF Award information: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1656006

Agronomy:

• Chuck Rice (Soil Microbiology; http://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/people/faculty/rice-charles/)

Biology:

• Walter Dodds (Aquatic Ecology; http://www.k-state.edu/doddslab/)
• Ari Jumpponen (Fungal Ecology; https://www.k-state.edu/biology/people/tenure/jumpponen/index.html)
• Sonny Lee (Metagenomics, bioinformatics; http://www.k-state.edu/biology/people/tenure/stmlee)
• Thomas Platt (Microbial Evolution; http://www.platt-lab.com/)
• Lydia Zeglin (Microbial Ecology; https://www.k-state.edu/biology/people/tenure/zeglin/index.html)

Plant Pathology

• Sanzhen Liu (Bioinformatics; http://www.plantpath.k-state.edu/people/faculty/liu/)

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for these MAPS graduate positions is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The award's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems