{"id":1203,"date":"2018-04-03T15:41:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/?p=1203"},"modified":"2018-04-03T15:54:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:54:03","slug":"trinitys-terri-williams-awarded-600000-grant-from-national-science-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/2018\/04\/03\/trinitys-terri-williams-awarded-600000-grant-from-national-science-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Terri Williams Awarded $600,000 Grant from National Science Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u200bHartford, Connecticut, March 9, 2018\u2014Trinity College Research Associate Professor\u00a0Terri Williams<\/a>\u00a0has been awarded a three-year, $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate the embryonic development of\u00a0Tribolium<\/em>, better known as the flour beetle. Williams had previously\u00a0received an NSF grant in 2013<\/a>\u00a0to study segmentation in arthropods\u2014a diverse group of animals that includes flies, shrimp, crabs, and spiders\u2014whose basic body plan consists of several repeated segments.<\/p>\n

With her most recent grant, Williams will study the\u00a0Tribolium<\/em>\u2019s \u201csegmentation clock,\u201d which refers to the oscillating expression of genes that drive segment formation in the embryo. In her past research, Williams and her students found that, surprisingly, the\u00a0Tribolium\u00a0<\/em>segmentation clock oscillated at varying rates. The discovery of this anomaly underlies her latest research project, \u201cRegulation of the\u00a0Tribolium\u00a0<\/em>Segmentation Clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Student Nicole Duan \u201918 (left) and Trinity College Research Associate Professor Terri Williams (right) with Trinity alumna Sara Khalil \u201915 at a symposium where Duan presented a poster in the fall of 2017.<\/p><\/div>\n

This NSF grant was provided to Williams in collaboration with Lisa Nagy, a professor at the University of Arizona. A portion of the funding will be used to give students the opportunity to go to Arizona and conduct research during the summer. \u201cStudents can perform experiments and use laboratory equipment not otherwise offered through science research programs at liberal arts colleges,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThe students will film live\u00a0Tribolium\u00a0<\/em>embryos using a confocal microscope, which allows them to observe development in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams provides each of her students with individual attention and comprehensive training when she works with them on research projects. Nicole Duan \u201918 has been working with Williams since her sophomore year. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t train all of her students the same way. She makes adjustments according to how each student works in the lab,\u201d Duan said of Williams. \u201cFor me, every time I accomplish something, she gives me more responsibility. I feel like I have learned a lot over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

By doing research with their professors, students supplement class lectures with experiences in the lab. \u201cI had the opportunity to experience what a scientist actually does, and I\u2019m now in the process of applying to Ph.D. programs,\u201d Duan said. \u201cThrough my experience working with Professor Williams, I have a good idea of the work I want to do in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams holds a B.S. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She first began studying arthropods as an undergraduate student. While pursuing her Ph.D. in biomechanics, Williams wrote her thesis dissertation on the mechanics of swimming in shrimp. During her research, she was interested in how these mechanics changed as the animals developed and added segments.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying beetle segmentation seems very specific, but humans are segmented, too,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWhile we see segmentation more clearly in arthropods like beetles or shrimp, it turns out that a lot of the animals on Earth are segmented.\u201d The prevalence of segmentation throughout the world makes it a popular area of study for scientists. \u201cThe basic design of a body plan made of repeated parts has proven to be a successful strategy for animals throughout evolution,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0National Science Foundation<\/a>\u00a0is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 \u201cto promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written by Lucy Peng \u201918<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u200bHartford, Connecticut, March 9, 2018\u2014Trinity College Research Associate Professor\u00a0Terri Williams\u00a0has been awarded a three-year, $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate the embryonic development of\u00a0Tribolium, better known as the flour beetle. Williams had previously\u00a0received an NSF grant in 2013\u00a0to study segmentation in arthropods\u2014a diverse group of animals that includes flies, shrimp, crabs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1424,"featured_media":1204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28,4],"tags":[350,64,32,295,63,349,227],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1203"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1424"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1203"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1212,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1203\/revisions\/1212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/facultyhighlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}