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

提案标题：PECASE：文化适应、健康和免疫功能的生态：人类人口生物学中的综合研究和教育机构：西北大学文化和城市化与一系列人类健康问题有关，但关联喜忧参半：一些研究强调改善基础设施、卫生服务和教育的健康益处，而其他研究则提请注意与压力相关的、慢性退行性疾病和特应性疾病的发病率上升。需要在这一领域进行进一步研究，特别是因为世界各地的土著群体正越来越多地融入单一的全球经济。以前的研究主要集中在成年人身上，还需要对儿童和青少年面临的具体健康问题以及他们在快速文化变化背景下的独特经历进行更多的研究。此外，需要改进用于评估健康和人类生物学的方法，以克服在实地环境中进行的研究的限制。该项目致力于解决这些问题，以实现以下目标：1)在玻利维亚低地社会和经济转型的背景下调查免疫功能和儿童/青少年健康；2)开发和评估偏远地区免疫能力评估的微创方法；3)创造一系列教育机会，使高中生、本科生、研究生和国际学生可以参与有指导的原创研究。初步研究工作(项目1)将侧重于对玻利维亚低地文化变化和健康的前瞻性研究。将从9个村庄招募600名年龄在5岁至20岁之间的参与者，并将在多个时间点收集社会文化、人口、社会经济、人体测量和发病率数据。将采集唾液和手指刺血样本，以评估免疫功能和健康的生理标记物。通过在一系列文化生态环境中应用一套统一的生物学和社会文化方法，该项目将调查文化适应的多层面性质及其对儿童和青少年福祉的积极和消极影响。此外，结合生长和发病率对免疫能力的评估--使用不需要静脉穿刺法--将揭示潜在的生理过程，这些过程可能调解文化生态环境变化与不利的生长和健康后果之间的联系。随后的研究工作(项目2和项目3)将致力于对免疫发育的比较分析：将从玻利维亚、萨摩亚和美国收集的5-20岁儿童的样本中比较免疫的多个维度，以深入了解免疫发育的变异范围，并探索比较生态学观点对当前人类免疫功能理解的贡献。该项目的广泛优点包括一些教育倡议：1)开发两门课程的人类生物学研究序列；2)本科生的指导性研究经验；3)研究生的实验室方法暑期工作坊；4)在玻利维亚培训国际学生；5)与当地一所高中建立伙伴关系，为高中生提供实习和研究机会。参与的学生将参与科学过程，将新的方法学技能应用于人类生物学和健康问题，并成为合作研究社区的成员。该项目最初是作为职业奖资助的，并于2004年5月转变为总统工程师和科学家早期职业奖(PECASE)奖。

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.