National Science Foundation Director Research Articles

High‐yield production of hematopoietic growth factors by tobacco BY‐2 cells for ex vivo production of red blood cells

Ex vivo generation of clinically available red blood cells (RBCs) from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) represents a promising approach for overcoming the limitations associated with the use of donor’s blood, such as shortage of blood and risk of transfusion‐transmitted infections. Both expansion and differentiation of stem cells are highly reliant on growth and differentiation factors, with the activity and purity of these molecules being critical to successful research and clinical applications. The overarching goal of this project is to develop a novel plant cell‐based bioproduction platform for high‐quality (i.e. animal‐free and endotoxin‐free) erythropoietic growth factors (eGFs) that facilitate mass production of RBCs from HSCs at significantly reduced cost. In addressing the low productivity bottleneck of plant cell culture technology, this proposal aims to leverage a unique, plant‐specific, O‐glycosylation process called “hydroxyproline (Hyp)‐O‐glycosylation” for de novo design and engineering of Hyp‐O‐ glycosylated peptides (HypGPs”) that presumably function as a molecular carrier in boosting secretion of conjoined eGFs from cultured plant cells. This will dramatically increase the secreted yields of plant cell‐derived eGFs and simplify the product purification process. Three key eGFs essential for HSCs expansion and differentiation: erythropoietin (EPO), stem cell factor (SCF) and interleukin 3 (IL‐3), are expressed in tobacco BY‐2 cells as fusion with a strategically designed HypGP tag. The secreted protein yields, molecular structure, and Hyp‐O‐glycosylation of the HypGP‐tagged eGFs are characterized. The bioactivities of individual HypGP‐tagged eGF in stimulating proliferation and differentiation of relevant hematopoietic cell lines, includingTF1 erythroleukemic cell and umbilical cord blood‐derived CD34+ cell, are evaluated to establish a suitable design of HypGP tag (size and orientation) for each eGF. A scalable cell culture system fortified sorely with plant cell‐produced eGFs is developed for production of RBCs from CD34+ HSC cells. This project provides a proof‐of‐concept for ex vivo manufacturing of stem cell‐derived RBCs with plant cell‐produced eGFs.Support or Funding InformationNational Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering [1605564]; National Institutes of Health‐Arkansas INBRE [P20GM103429]

NSF’s 70th birthday

This is a guest editorial by France A. Córdova, director of the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation (NSF) was created in the same spirit that put US scientific capabilities forward to win World War II. This year, NSF is 70. As we confront the urgency of COVID-19, NSF is working diligently with the research community to respond. When we emerge from this crisis, just as we did from WWII, basic research will be an engine to drive US progress. As the NSF director, I oversee research funded at 2,000 institutions across the country. This is what I know: researchers are pursuing groundbreaking discoveries and bold ideas; they are confronting challenges, unflinchingly. The agency itself is resilient. During my tenure we navigated government shutdowns, expanded partnerships, and grew our budget by $1 billion. The reason: resilience is in our foundation. We remain committed to our mission of advancing scientific

A Community-Building Framework for Collaborative Research Coordination across the Education and Biology Research Disciplines.

Since 2009, the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences has funded Research Coordination Networks (RCN) aimed at collaborative efforts to improve participation, learning, and assessment in undergraduate biology education (UBE). RCN-UBE projects focus on coordination and communication among scientists and educators who are fostering improved and innovative approaches to biology education. When faculty members collaborate with the overarching goal of advancing undergraduate biology education, there is a need to optimize collaboration between participants in order to deeply integrate the knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. In this essay we propose a novel guiding framework for bringing colleagues together to advance knowledge and its integration across disciplines, the “Five ‘C’s’ of Collaboration: Commitment, Collegiality, Communication, Consensus, and Continuity.” This guiding framework for professional network practice is informed by both relevant literature and empirical evidence from community-building experience within the RCN-UBE Advancing Competencies in Experimentation–Biology (ACE-Bio) Network. The framework is presented with practical examples to illustrate how it might be used to enhance collaboration between new and existing participants in the ACE-Bio Network as well as within other interdisciplinary networks.

Science and Cyberinfrastructure: The Chicken and Egg Problem

In September, I participated in a general scientific discussion regarding the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences (NSF GEO) Priorities and Frontiers 2015–2020 document. One of the key issues raised in conjunction with this document was the issue of science versus infrastructure. Although there was overwhelming agreement on the need for infrastructure to do our science, there was much concern about the corresponding balance of investment.

Funding agency responses to federal requirements for public access to research results

EDITOR'S SUMMARYA February 2013 government mandate directed federal departments and agencies to develop plans to promote access to the publications and data generated from federally funded scientific research. Panelists representing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Studies and the National Institutes of Health Office of Extramural Research shared updates on their agencies’ progress. While each agency has more or less stringent policies in place for preserving data and making it accessible, the mandate expands their application without additional resources or guidance on writing or evaluating data management plans. The agencies represented will make efforts to minimize the burden on researchers, but audience members questioned who will handle the data management. Possible solutions include having librarians assigned to research projects or providing training to increase citation of datasets and link these outputs to grants.

White House Budget Proposal Would Provide National Science Foundation With 1.2% Increase

The proposed $7.255 billion budget request for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal year (FY) 2015, announced by the White House on 4 March, would increase funding just $83 million, 1.2% above the FY 2014 estimate (see Table 1). The budget for NSF's Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) would nudge up 0.1% to $1.304 billion, an increase of $1.36 million (see Table 2).

What Awaits the New NSF Director

In the coming days, the United States Senate will consider the confirmation of Dr. France Córdova as director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). If confirmed, Dr. Córdova will be the latest in a line of distinguished scientists to lead the nearly $7 billion agency, the most important source of funding for basic research outside of the biomedical sciences. Rather than turning over with the election of a new president, the NSF director is appointed to a 6-year term. During the roughly 2000 days that Córdova will have at the helm, she will need to deal with many forces that threaten the nation's ability to innovate. One major impediment is the continuing threat of mandatory budget cuts from sequestration, whose impact this year included fewer grants awarded and delays to many research projects.

Suresh Leaves His Mark on NSF as He Heads to Carnegie Mellon

Outgoing National Science Foundation director hopes initiatives on interdisciplinary research, global partnerships, and entrepreneurship will be sustained.

Newsmakers

National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh will be the new president of Carnegie Mellon, Jane Lubchenco has won the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology, and 12 researchers and 11 inventors have won the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Wakimoto discusses role as NSF's incoming assistant director of geosciences

Roger Wakimoto's adrenaline “is starting to pump,” the incoming assistant director for geosciences (GEO) at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) told Eos during an exclusive interview at this month's AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco. Wakimoto, whose scientific expertise is in extreme weather, is scheduled to take charge as head of the NSF directorate for geosciences starting in February 2013. During his 4‐year appointment at NSF, Wakimoto, 59 and an avowed workaholic, will head up the GEO directorate, which has about an $880 million annual funding portfolio and provides about 55% of federal funding for geosciences basic research at U.S. academic institutions. The directorate currently includes the divisions of atmospheric and geospace sciences, Earth sciences, and ocean sciences. In addition, NSF's Office of Polar Programs is slated to become a GEO division under a realignment plan announced on 7 September; Wakimoto said that shift had “no bearing” on his decision to accept the position.

U.S. National Science Foundation seeks comments on restructure of geoscience education programs

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) is an important source of funding for geoscience education and research in the United States. The directorate's programs have focused on broadening participation, geoscience education research, adoption of best practices in teaching, and other issues. Recently, the directorate issued a “Dear Colleague” letter about restructuring its geoscience education programs. Three programs are being changed: GEO‐Teach (a program that aimed to improve the quality of geoscience instruction, primarily at middle and high school levels) is being retired, GeoEd (a program that seeks to increase public understanding of Earth system science) is undergoing review and restructuring, and Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG, a program aimed at enhancing minority representation) is also undergoing review and restructuring. Comments concerning the OEDG program, in particular, are being requested by NSF.

NSF realignment plan includes moving polar office into geosciences directorate

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced plans on 7 September to realign four program offices that are currently within the office of the NSF director, reducing the number of NSF directorates and offices within the director's office from 16 to 13 “to maximize research and education outcomes for science and engineering while enhancing NSF's operational agility.” Under the realignment, which would begin 1 October, the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) would become a division within the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO); OPP, which is currently within the office of the director, had been part of GEO until 1993. The Office of Cyberinfrastructure, also currently in the director's office, would become a division within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. Two other offices within the director's office—the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Office of Integrative Activities—would be merged to become the Office of International and Integrative Activities.

Improving Antarctic infrastructure

Noting that U.S. activities in Antarctica “are very well managed but suffer from an aging infrastructure, lack of a capital budget, and the effects of operating in an extremely unforgiving environment,” a 23 July report from the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel recommends a number of measures to improve the infrastructure, logistics, and other concerns. The panel's recommendations include continued use of the McMurdo, South Pole, and Palmer stations as the primary U.S. science and logistics hubs in Antarctica—because there are no reasonable alternatives, according to the panel—while upgrading or replacing some facilities, restoring the U.S. polar ocean feet, implementing state of‐the‐art logistics and transportation support, and establishing a long‐term facilities capital plan and budget for the U.S. Antarctic Program. “The essence of our findings is that the lack of capital budgeting has placed operations at McMurdo, and to a somewhat lesser extent at Palmer Station, in unnecessary jeopardy—at least in terms of prolonged inefficiency due to deteriorating or otherwise inadequate physical assets,” the panel wrote in the cover letter accompanying the report entitled, More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness. “The Antarctica Blue Ribbon Panel encourages us to take a hard look at how we support Antarctic science and to make the structural changes, however difficult in the current fiscal environment, that will allow us to do more science in the future,” said U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Subra Suresh.

Committee reviews NSF geosciences efforts and releases ocean drilling report

The state of the geosciences directorate at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is healthy, with a number of accomplishments, although there are also challenges related to funding and other issues, Tim Killeen, assistant director for geosciences at NSF, told the agency's Advisory Committee for Geosciences (AC/GEO) at an 18–19 April meeting. The meeting provided a broad overview of the geosciences directorate, including program priorities, the budget, a report on ocean drilling, and an update on the search to find a replacement for Killeen, whose term as assistant director will conclude on 30 June. At the meeting, NSF director Subra Suresh said that the agency has interviewed candidates for the position based on search committee recommendations. “We hope to close on the search very, very soon,” he said. “Hopefully, it will work out well in time for a smooth transition.” Other searches include finding a replacement for Robert Detrick, former director of the geoscience directorate's Earth sciences division, who recently became assistant administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's research office.

AGU awarded grant to establish program on engaging 2‐year‐college students in research

Students at 2‐year colleges are a critical part of the future Earth and space science workforce, and undergraduate research experiences provide a hook to retain and ultimately to graduate students in the field. AGU was awarded a planning grant by the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences (Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences award 1201578) to help launch a new initiative concerning these issues; education and public outreach staff are the principal investigators. This new initiative, titled Unique Research Experiences for Two‐Year College Faculty and Students (URECAS), will begin with a planning workshop this summer (11–13 July). The workshop will bring together faculty from 2‐year colleges, 4‐year colleges and universities, and representatives from professional societies and federal organizations to learn more about how to support 2‐year‐college faculty and students engaged in Earth and space science research and to discuss the development of a program to strengthen the role of 2‐year‐college Earth and space science students in the future workforce

National Science Foundation proposed budget could see another increase

President Barack Obama's proposed budget for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal year (FY) 2013 would provide the agency with $7.37 billion, a $340 million increase, 4.8% above the FY 2012 estimated budget under which NSF has been operating. NSF has fared well during previous budget cycles, and the Obama administration's budget document for FY 2013 states that “NSF plays a critical role in the implementation of the President's Plan for Science and Technology.” With federal agencies operating under tighter budgets in a difficult financial climate, NSF director Subra Suresh said the budget includes substantial increases for core programs, frontier science, education, and human resources. “I am confident that NSF merits the $7.4 billion the president proposed. I'm optimistic Congress will approve the budget,” Suresh said at a 13 February NSF budget briefing.

NSF Creates Fast Track for Out-of-the-Box Proposals

Last week, National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh unveiled an initiative that aims to roll the dice on a relative handful of researchers with unorthodox ideas about how to tackle complex problems.

Merit comes first

National Science Foundation director Subra Suresh reveals how his agency is coping with a grim fiscal outlook.

Obama Boosts Science Education During White House Student Fair

With the East Room of the White House flush with Nobel laureates and government officials, including freshly sworn‐in U.S. National Science Foundation director Subra Suresh, President Barack Obama honored dozens of students who participated in a White House science fair on 18 October. The fair—many of whose participants have won other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions—is part of a series of events that culminated 23–24 October in the USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and at 50 satellite events around the country.“We welcome championship sports teams to the White House to celebrate their victories,” Obama said, noting that the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, New Orleans Saints football team, and others have been to the White House. “I thought we ought to do the same thing for the winners of science fair and robotic contests and math competitions, because often we don't give these victories the attention that they deserve. When you win first place at a science fair, nobody is rushing the field or dumping Gatorade over your head [in celebration].”

Suresh slated to head U.S. National Science Foundation

U.S. president Barack Obama announced on 3 June his intent to nominate Subra Suresh as the next director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Arden Bement, who served as NSF director since 2004, resigned earlier this year to lead Purdue University's Global Policy Research Institute, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Suresh is dean of the School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge. Suresh joined MIT in 1993 as the R. P. Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Since then, he has held joint faculty appointments in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Biological Engineering, as well as the Division of Health Sciences and Technology.