Immunobiology of Blood and Vascular Systems Training

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DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): This proposal requests continued support for an interdisciplinary training program focused on the Immunobiology of Blood and Vascular Systems (IBVS) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The IBVS Training Program provides strong framework for mentoring and developing the careers of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows with keen interest in studying the. molecular aspects of inflammation and autoimmunity that mediate human blood and vascular disorders. Twenty-one faculty preceptors from Vanderbilt's Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Medicine, Pathology, and Pharmacology will interact to sustain the IBVS Training Program. As evidenced by a significant number of fruitful collaborations and publications, these faculty preceptors constitute a highly interactive team with complementary research interests in the molecular mechanisms affecting the blood and vascular system in health and disease. Their overlapping research fronts encompass (1) functional genomics and proteomics of inflammation and autoimmunity, (2) innate immunity and inflammation, (3) antigen processing and presentation, (4) lymphocyte signaling and gene expression, (5) functional interplay between retroviruses and the immune system, (6) lymphocyte development and differentiation, (7) generation of antigen receptor diversity, (8) oxidative stress and autoimmunity, (9) hemopoietic cell adhesion and trafficking, and (10) peptide/protein delivery, and subcellular targeting. To support innovative training in these fronts, the application requests support for 5 predoctoral, 5 postdoctoral, and 6 undergraduate student training slots. Bringing this balanced mix of talent together under the rubric of the IBVS Training Program will create unique opportunities for cross-fertilization that further enhance the research experience and career development of its three constituent training groups. Predoctoral trainees accepted by the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (IGP) will be eligible for IBVS Training Program support pending evaluation of their first year of graduate studies by the IBVS Training Program Steering Committee. Postdoctoral trainees holding Ph.D. and/or M.D. degrees will be appointed pending nomination by a participating preceptor and the decision of the IBVS Training Program Steering Committee. To help foster the next generation of young biomedical scientists, qualified undergraduate students will be selected to participate as IBVS Training Program trainees in a summer research program. All trainees in the IBVS Training Program will be expected to participate in structured didactic offerings, including the Program's flagship course "Functional Genomics and Proteomics: Applications to Immunobiology", a weekly Research- In-Progress seminar series, and a journal club led by participating IBVS Training Program faculty preceptors.