Support for Enhancement Excellence in Research at UPR-RP

描述（由申请人提供）：第二份补充申请要求在波多黎各大学（b里约热内卢Piedras）的SCORE计划中增加三个常规项目和一个试点项目。项目包括三个来自生物系，一个来自化学系。其中两个是根据我们的SCORE申请（Soderquist）和第一个补充申请（Dominguez）总结声明中的评论进行修改的申请。另一份来自新近聘用的进化生物学家和数量遗传学家（Hrbek），另一份来自参加上一轮拨款周期的初级研究员（Giray）。所有这些共同补充了在MBRS计划主持下进行了超过33年的UPR-RP生物医学研究工作，特别是加强了目前的SCORE计划，该计划包括14个常规项目和3个试点项目（化学10个，生物学5个，数学2个）。这些新项目的共同目标是在以下领域开展竞争性研究：(1)不同人群混合导致的幽门螺杆菌和氨基酸类型的替代和菌株间转化，以及对疾病的潜在影响，（Dominguez）；(2)在蜜蜂模型中对肌肉（运动）与成人行为发展的整合的理解（Giray）；(3)建立了一个模型系统，用于评估在环境压力下进化出这些性状的applocheiloide超家族中与生物医学相关的复杂性状，衰老和发育滞育（Hrbek）；(4)发明和开发了合成非外消旋胺和氨基酸的新方法；具有广泛潜在应用于药物和复杂天然产物合成的手性构件（Soderquist）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This second supplemental application requests the addition of three regular and one pilot projects to the SCORE Program currently active at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. The projects included are three from the Department of Biology and one from Chemistry. Two of these are revised applications according to the critiques reported in summary statements of our SCORE application (Soderquist) and of the first supplemental application (Dominguez). Another is presented from a recently hired evolutionary biologist and quantitative geneticist (Hrbek) and the other is from a junior investigator that participated in the previous grant cycle (Giray). All together complement biomedical research efforts at UPR-RP that have been ongoing for over 33 years under the auspicies of the MBRS program and specifically, strengthen the present SCORE Program which groups 14 regular and 3 pilot projects (10 in Chemistry, 5 in Biology and 2 in Mathematics). Together these new projects aim to conduct competitive research in areas related to (1) replacement and inter-strain conversion of Helicobacteri and amino acids pylori types resulting from the mixing of different human populations, and potential impact on disease, (Dominguez); (2) the understanding of the integration of muscle (motor) with adult behavioural development in a bee model (Giray); (3) the development of a model system for evaluating biomedically relevant complex traits, senescence and developmental diapause, in the fish super family of Aplocheiloide that has evolved these traits in response to environmental pressures (Hrbek), and (4) to the invention and development of new methods for the synthesis of non-racemic amines and amino acids, chiral building blocks which have a wide range of potential applications for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and complex natural products (Soderquist). These investigations are to be sustained by an ongoing administrative project and by technical and support personnel that include four laboratory technicians and three postdoctoral associates. This enhanced SCORE Program will provide this institution first-rate research and development opportunities as well as a fully supportive research atmosphere and will thus help the participating faculty to increase their biomedical research productivity, scientific competitiveness and peer recognition. Research activities in the program also enhance the existing MARC U*STAR Program and the MBRS-RISE Program at this institution. Progress in the specific aims of each new project and in the overall aims of the program will be evaluated yearly through an established Evaluation Plan.