A major national grant received by an NDSU biology researcher will help develop ways to effectively control insects and will bolster research opportunities for students to encourage careers in science. Kendra Greenlee, assistant professor of biology, has received a Faculty Early Career Development award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation. Greenlee will receive a five-year, $800,000 award from the foundation to conduct research outlined in her proposal, “Ontogenetic Changes in Tracheal System Structure and Function in Larval Insects.” The grant is the largest of this type of CAREER award received by an NDSU faculty member in the past 14 years.
Greenlee’s research program will focus on how the insect respiratory system works and how it has evolved as a high-capacity O2 delivery system. The studies on respiratory capacity in developing insects have direct applications for the development of non-pesticide based methods of insect control. Understanding how respiratory capacity varies throughout development may identify susceptible stages in insect life cycles. Manipulation of atmospheric gas composition is a growing method for controlling insects in grain storage, greenhouses and museum collections.
The grant also provides for significant research opportunities for undergraduate students and further educational outreach. Four NDSU undergraduates will participate in Greenlee’s research program. Students involved in NDSU’s Research to Improve Diversity and Education program also will spend two summers conducting related research in NDSU labs. The program includes students from Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, Miss., and will be expanded to include students from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, through the efforts of the NDSU Office of Equity, Diversity, and Global Outreach. Greenlee also will establish a social networking site for students participating in the program who will access research materials through the site and receive mentoring on their scientific research activities.
A faculty member from Mississippi Valley State University will participate in research in Greenlee’s lab and Greenlee will provide a research seminar at Mississippi Valley. A major goal of the outreach education plan is to increase the presence of underrepresented students in science careers. The grant also will fund collaborations between NDSU, Argonne National Laboratory, the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Leloir Institute Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Research on mechanisms of gas exchange in larval insects will provide new understanding about the development of physiology systems and provide an excellent environment for students to learn about conducting scientific research and careers in science. The research will be of interest to scientists in physiology, respiratory physiology and developmental biology.
“Kendra is the first faculty member in biological sciences at NDSU to receive a CAREER award,” commented Will Bleier, chair of biological sciences. “This honor is testament to Kendra’s research abilities, creativity, work ethic and diligence. Research startup funds from the department, College of Science and Mathematics, and the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research have also been critical to Kendra’s success,” said Bleier.
Greenlee joined the NDSU Department of Biological Sciences in 2007. She earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Arizona State University, Tempe, and completed postdoctoral work in pulmonary disease at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. She has written or co-written 11 peer-reviewed publications. Greenlee also conducts science workshops as part of NDSU’s Center for Child Development.
Since 1996, 15 faculty members at NDSU have received prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER awards. “National Science Foundation CAREER awards to NDSU faculty reflect the institution’s ability to attract the best and the brightest among new faculty researchers,” said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer.
Overall, National Science Foundation CAREER awardees at NDSU have received more than $5.7 million in grants to conduct research in biology, chemistry, civil and electrical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences and coatings and polymeric materials. NDSU CAREER awardees include Gregory Cook, Seth Rasmussen, Wenfang Sun, Sivaguru Jayaraman and Uwe Burghaus in chemistry and molecular biology, Sanku Mallik in pharmaceutical sciences, Magdy Abdelrahman, Xuefeng Chu, Chung-Souk Han, Kalpana Katti and Eakalak Khan in civil engineering and Kendra Greenlee in biological sciences.
The National Science Foundation CAREER program recognizes and supports early career-development activities of scholars who are likely to become academic leaders of the 21st century. Recipients are chosen on the basis of creative career development plans that integrate research and education within the context of their university’s mission.
