C-DEBI Graduate Fellow Program

[PDF version of the Spring 2013 C-DEBI Graduate Student Fellowship RFP]

The C-DEBI Graduate Fellow Program supports graduate student research in C-DEBI community laboratories. A candidate fellow's research is expected to align with one or more of the C-DEBI objectives. A principal goal of C-DEBI is to recruit scientists of any related fields to deep biosphere research and to build a well-connected future community of deep-biosphere researchers. C-DEBI encourages women and members of underrepresented groups to apply. This funding is only available to graduate students sponsored in US institutions.

C-DEBI provides support for graduate student fellowships awarded on the basis of scientific excellence and the appropriateness of the subject matter to Center objectives. The goal of the graduate student program is to stimulate the advancement of deep biosphere research through the training of a new generation of innovative scientists. Potential fellows should contact and discuss research topics for fellowships with potential advisors, as successful candidates will be expected to have well-conceived research plans as well as willing C-DEBI advisors.

The central research themes within C-DEBI are:

1. Activity in the deep biosphere: function & rates of global biogeochemical processes
2. Extent of life: biomes and the degree of connectivity (biogeography & dispersal)
3. Limits of life: extremes and norms of carbon, energy, nutrient, temperature, pressure, pH
4. Evolution and survival: adaptation, enrichment, selection, and cell repair

Proposals should clearly state how the research contributes to one or more of these themes.

Proposed projects should be innovative and aim to answer current fundamental research questions and/or contribute to the development of new hypotheses and goals for future studies. Successful proposals will clearly articulate the relevance of proposed research for C-DEBI, indicate sources of samples and/or data (where necessary), and describe the qualifications of the applicant(s). Entrainment of new researchers previously not funded by C-DEBI will be a major consideration in the decision process. See the Grants Programs FAQs for additional review details.

Proposals will be considered for pre- and post-expedition research using samples and data, and/or participation on upcoming expeditions. Proposed research can also focus on theoretical, experimental and/or modeling studies of the deep biosphere in a broader sense, e.g., testing novel techniques for deep biosphere research, lab-based experiments with deep biosphere organisms, model development, or metabolic studies of growth under deep subsurface conditions. Fundamental studies of microbial metabolism that can be applied to subseafloor conditions will also be considered.

In addition to the general call which targets all appropriate C-DEBI research, the current proposal call includes a special focused topic for funding projects that involve field, experimental, or theoretical approaches related to an oceanographic expedition to the Dorado Outcrop. This expedition is scheduled for 6-27 November 2013 to explore for and sample from springs discharging cool (5 to 20°C) hydrothermal fluids on 23 m.y. old seafloor on the eastern flank of the East Pacific Rise (PIs Wheat (UAF), Fisher (UCSC), and Hulme (MLML)). The expedition will include multi-beam mapping with a surface ship and the AUV Sentry, and seafloor exploration, sampling, and measurements using the ROV Jason [more on the Dorado project and the NSF proposal]. Opportunities, including limited berths, exist for C-DEBI "add-on" science that can be completed without diverting significantly from primary operations. To avoid potential conflicts please consult with a PI prior to submittal. C-DEBI anticipates that a third to a half of funds will go to support high quality proposals on this topic.

Applicants who wish to use samples or data collected as part of IODP or other oceanographic expeditions must ensure that their proposed projects do not conflict with existing expedition-related projects (e.g., shipboard scientists’ projects). Proponents and their intended advisors should resolve this issue by contacting expedition co-chiefs and shipboard scientists before they submit their proposals. In this respect, it should be noted that receiving research support from C-DEBI does not guarantee access to samples or data that are not available to the community at large. Applicants for C-DEBI support are responsible for securing access to all samples and data needed to complete proposed work, and should provide evidence of access to the samples in the proposal, if appropriate. For the IODP Sample, Data and Obligations Policy and other sample and data access information, visit http://www.iodp.org/access-data/.

Graduate student fellowships are available for a maximum of 2 years, depending on a successful evaluation near the end of year 1 of the fellowship. Current funding rates are $32,000 and will be distributed as stipend funds directly to the advisor’s home institution. The home institution must be a US institution able to receive NSF funding as a subaward and agree that no part of the award will be used for overhead.

The applicant must be a student in good standing who has been accepted into the graduate program. Each graduate applicant will identify a primary advisor, who agrees to sponsor them and manage logistical aspects of their support (office and lab space, materials and supplies for conducting research). The primary advisor will be required to commit to meeting with the graduate student to discuss research progress at least twice monthly and to provide means of allowing broader discussion about her or his research – this can be in the form of departmental seminars, group meetings, etc. The primary advisor also is required to provide support for the graduate student to attend the Fall American Geophysical Union Meeting in San Francisco. Fellows are expected to attend yearly C-DEBI meetings. The advisor should include a statement agreeing to these points in their recommendation letter.

Fellows will submit a progress report on their achievements (2 pages maximum including any presentations given or papers published that can be listed separately), a one page summary of the proposed work for the second year and a letter of progress from the advisor to an ad-hoc oversight committee whose approval will be required for the release of the second year of fellowship funding.

> See our graduate student and postdoctoral mentoring plan.

Applications should include a cover page, a proposal for research to be conducted (maximum 3 pages), a proposal implementation statement, a curriculum vitae, a recommendation from the anticipated fellowship advisor and a second faculty recommendation. The next deadline for this semiannual call is April 1, 2013.

1. Cover Page (PDF form)

2. Research Proposal - The research project should clearly be the applicant's own endeavor and should demonstrate the student’s capability or potential for carrying out the project. Research goals should be realistic and attainable within the expected period of the fellowship. As necessary, the methodology section should also discuss any relevant pilot studies, projected numbers of samples, sampling strategies, and both limitations and strengths of the proposed techniques. Literature citations should be included throughout the proposal wherever appropriate.

Each research proposal must include a short title, an abstract (a concise summary of about 100 words), and a description of the proposed research (statement of the problem, background and relevance to previous work, discussion of methodology and procedure to be followed, explanation of new or unusual techniques, and discussion of expected results, significance, and application).

3. Proposal Implementation Statement - Include a 1 page statement briefly describing the research facilities where you plan to carry out laboratory testing, if applicable, and a timeline and schedule of your proposed research.

4. Curriculum Vitae - Include relevant educational history (degrees and dates awarded); fellowships, scholarships, and awards received; academic honors received; society membership(s); employment experience (including any internships); and any authored or co-authored journal articles, abstracts, or other publications related to your proposed research.

5. Faculty Advisor Material - Include a copy of the faculty advisor's two page curriculum vitae and a letter of recommendation addressing 1) the degree of originality and independence the applicant has shown in developing the proposed fellowship research and 2) how the research is intellectually and fiscally linked to the advisor's research (funded or pending). The advisor should also include a statement of commitment as described in the requirements section above.

6. Second Faculty Recommendation

Please submit your proposal, preferably as a single PDF document, to C-DEBI at submissions@darkenergybiosphere.org to the attention of:
- Rosalynn Sylvan (rosalyyl@usc.edu), C-DEBI Co-Managing Director
 

Questions about the graduate student fellowship can be addressed to the C-DEBI Research Coordinator:
- Linda Duguay (duguay@usc.edu), University of Southern California

You may also contact one of the four theme team leaders or the PIs of the Dorado Expedition:
- Theme 1 (Activity): Beth Orcutt (borcutt@bigelow.org)
- Theme 2 (Extent of Life): Andreas Teske (teske@email.unc.edu)
- Theme 3 (Limits of Life): Tom McCollom (mccollom@lasp.colorado.edu)
- Theme 4 (Evolution and Survival): Bill Nelson (william.nelson@pnnl.gov)
- Dorado Expedition: Geoff Wheat (wheat@mbari.org), Andy Fisher (afisher@ucsc.edu), Sam Hulme (shulme@mlml.calstate.edu)

> Read our Grants Programs FAQs to understand how C-DEBI proposals are reviewed and more!
> What graduate student research projects have been funded?
 
> See also the similarly IODP-aligned Schlanger Fellowship for graduate students.
> See also the opportunity for Interridge Student Fellowships of up to $5000.