PECASE: Acculturation, Health, and the Ecology of Immune Function: Integrated Research and Education in Human Population Biology

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Proposal Title: PECASE: Acculturation, health, and the ecology of immune function: Integrated research and education in human population biologyInstitution: Northwestern UniversityAcculturation and urbanization have been linked to a wide range of human health issues, but the associations are mixed: A number of studies highlight the health benefits of improved access to infrastructure, health services, and education, while others draw attention to rising rates of stress-related, chronic degenerative, and atopic diseases. Further research in this area is needed, especially since indigenous groups around the world are becoming increasingly incorporated into a single global economy. Previous research has focused largely on adults, and additional research is needed on the specific health issues confronting children and adolescents, and their unique experiences in the context of rapid culture change. In addition, improvements in the methods used to assess health and human biology are required to overcome the constraints of research conducted in field settings. This project addresses these issues in pursuit of the following objectives: 1) investigate immune function and child/adolescent health in the context of social and economic transitions in lowland Bolivia, 2) develop and evaluate minimally-invasive methods for assessing immunocompetence in remote field settings, and 3) create a series of educational opportunities in which high school, undergraduate, graduate, and international students can participate in mentored original research.Initial research efforts (Project 1) will be focused on a prospective study of culture change and health in lowland Bolivia. 600 participants between the ages of 5 and 20 years will be recruited from 9 villages, and sociocultural, demographic, socioeconomic, anthropometric, and morbidity data will be collected at multiple time points. Saliva and finger prick blood samples will be collected to assess physiological markers of immune function and health. By applying a uniform set of biological and socio-cultural methods across a range of cultural-ecological settings, this project will investigate the multidimensional nature of acculturation, and its positive and negative implications for child and adolescent well-being. In addition, assessment of immunocompetence-using methods that do not require venipuncture-in conjunction with growth and morbidity will reveal underlying physiological processes that may mediate the associations between shifting cultural-ecological environments and adverse growth and health outcomes. Subsequent research efforts (Projects 2 and 3) will be dedicated to a comparative analysis of immune development: Multiple dimensions of immunity will be compared in samples collected from 5-20 year-olds in Bolivia, Samoa, and the U.S. to gain insight into the range of variation in immune development, and to explore the contribution of a comparative, ecological perspective to current understandings of human immune function.Broader merits of the project include a number of educational initiatives: 1) development of a two-course sequence in Human Biology Research; 2) mentored research experience for undergraduate students; 3) summer workshop in laboratory methods for graduate students; 4) training of international students in Bolivia, and 5) establishment of a partnership with a local high school to provide internship and research opportunities for high school students. Participating students will engage in the scientific process, apply new methodological skills to issues in human biology and health, and become members of a collaborative research community.This project was originally funded as a CAREER award, and was converted to a Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE) award in May 2004.