COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee has primary oversight for the activities and budget of the Ecological Genomics Institute. Steering members, in collaboration with Ecogen participants, are responsible for program assessment and planning for the future of the Institute.

 

Curriculum

The Curriculum Committee helps meet the goal of integrating research and education by offering support to graduate students and developing an interdisciplinary curriculum. A course in Bioinformatics was developed and offered in Spring 2007. Currently, plans are underway to develop a course that offers content in molecular biology and ecology and their application to biological questions.

 

Infrastructure

The Infrastructure Committee facilitates the development of state-of-the-art research infrastructure to promote EG research. One of the goals of the TE program is to build partnerships to more effectively use, enhance and extend our infrastructure network. Facilities supported by Ecological Genomics include the KSU Gene Expression facility, the USDA Small Grain Genotyping Laboratory (GMPRC), the KSU Bioinformatics Center, and Konza Prairie. The committee is responsible for identifying and recommending purchase of equipment and software that will benefit Ecogen participants. Prior investments include Genepix software and a network version of GeneMarker software, a Nanodrop DNA Spectrophotometer, Hyb-station blocks for large chips, upgrading the Affymetrix scanner in the GEF, and funding of equipment maintenance contracts.

 

Seed Grant

The Seed Grant Selection Committee will provide seed money for Ecological Genomics research groups so they may become competitive for extramural funds. Seed grants will be awarded to EG research groups on a competitive basis and all proposals will be peer reviewed by outside reviewers. They will initiate a request for proposals, review the proposals, consider external reviews, and vote on which proposals should be funded. The Seed Grant Committee also reviews progress reports from 2-year funded projects to determine if sufficient progress has been made to award Year 2 funding.

 

The Grants Committee also reviews proposals for funding of Bulk Fragment Analysis and Genotyping. This funding is intended to cover a portion of a researcher’s genotyping costs, thereby providing researchers flexibility to explore new research avenues, fund high quality undergraduate research projects and stimulate creativity in research.

 

Symposium

Our annual national symposium ‘Genes in Ecology and Ecology in Genes’ has become a magnet for EG researchers in this emerging field. The Symposium Committee is responsible for identifying nationally and internationally recognized speakers who are doing research in the field of Ecological Genomics. The committee also reviews submitted poster abstracts and selects a few for oral presentation at the Symposium. Additional event activities and details are coordinated in consultation with the Committee.

 

Visiting-Scholar

The Visiting Scholar Committee fulfills activities to attract experts to the Ecological Genomics Institute to share their expertise and to interact and learn from KSU EG researchers. Several visiting scholar positions have been established, each type varying slightly in intent and duration of stay (described below).

a. The Promising Young Visiting Scholar program will invite post-doctoral fellows whose professional accomplishments are beginning to be recognized by the international research community, to test their EG hypotheses with host collaborators at KSU. At the same time, these visiting scholars will gain pertinent information about KSU EG efforts and make valuable professional contacts.
b. Visiting Collaborative Scholar Program will be established to provide opportunities for collaboration development with KSU EG faculty. EG TE will support faculty visits and travel with the goal of providing funds and an environment conducive to write grant proposals/papers.
c. Extended Seminar Visits of Prominent EG Scientists will provide exposure to work being done in laboratories outside of KSU and, more importantly, building links with these laboratories. We will invite highly regarded scientists in EG to KSU to present their work and interact with EG researchers.

 

Workshop

Technical Workshops will be held at KSU and will provide technical expertise and cross training to established ecologists and genomicists who want to incorporate ecological genomic approaches. One of the Institute’s goals is to provide interdisciplinary training to faculty researchers and students wishing to expand their repertoire of research tools relevant to ecological genomics. In December, 2007, a Fluorescent Molecular Marker Workshop was held. In July, 2007, workshops focusing on Microarray Analysis and Bioinformatics will be sponsored.

3/1/07