Training in Mechanisms of Parasitism

寄生机制培训

• 批准号: 8150258
• 负责人: John E Donelson
• 金额: $ 33.5万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-08-01 至 2016-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8150258
• 关键词: Training; parasitism

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): "Parasitism" refers to a close relationship between two dissimilar organisms in which one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of the host. Parasitology often refers to protozoa and helminthic infections, but all pathogenic microbes face the same pressures to evade immune killing and derive nutrients in order survive in their mammalian hosts. This application is based on the hypothesis that the mechanisms through which pathogenic microbes invade and elicit disease in mammalian hosts, and responses of the host to these microbial pathogens, will share common features among microbes from different phyla, i.e., protozoa, helminths, bacteria, and viruses. A corollary is that the same technology can be applied to investigations of microbial virulence/host responses to different pathogens. Advances in microbial and host proteomics, metabolomics, deep-sequencing, regulatory RNAs and imaging have dramatically changed our capacity to approach critical questions underlying the host-parasite relationship. This Mechanisms of Parasitism training program embodies an integrated approach to the study of parasitism among researchers studying different pathogenic microbes but sharing interests in the survival mechanisms of the microbe and the defense strategies of the host. During the 14 years since its initial funding, the Mechanisms of Parasitism program has supported a total of 63 trainees (34 predocs and 29 postdocs). Virtually all of these trainees remain in science today, many early ones of whom are now in tenured academic positions. Key features of our program have been a weekly Parasitism Journal Club/Research meeting, annual formal presentations of the entire program, sponsored outside speakers, and mechanisms to promote the use of new technology and equipment by our trainees. Our ratios of applicants to selected trainees are high (13:1 predoc and 11:1 postdoc) and we expect postdoc applications to increase even further. In this application we request to (1) increase from 3 to 4 postdoctoral positions; (2) continue supporting 4 predoctoral trainees per year; (3) expand our weekly research meetings to include "Technical Topics" intended to provide trainees with the background and functional use of the latest techniques in bioinformatics, proteomics, statistics and statistical genetics, and microscopy; (4) expand our involvement of trainees in inviting and hosting outside speakers, and (5) focus on career development needs unique to the current research climate. Our program has been highly productive over the past 14 years. Our goal is to creatively and continually improve the environment and opportunities for trainees working on different aspects of the host-microbe balance during microbial infection. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Parasites, bacteria and viruses causing human disease have carefully designed strategies to avoid immune responses, survive and cause disease. An understanding of this parasitic relationship is essential before we can design and implement strategies to control these infections. The Mechanisms of Parasitism training program is designed to provide a supportive and nurturing environment for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to apply unified approaches to study the varied infectious scourges affecting humankind.

描述（由申请人提供）：“寄生性”是指两种不同生物体之间的密切关系，其中一种生物体（寄生虫）以宿主为代价获益。寄生虫学通常指的是原生动物和蠕虫感染，但所有病原微生物都面临着同样的压力，以逃避免疫杀死和获取营养，以便在哺乳动物宿主中生存。本申请基于以下假设：病原微生物侵入哺乳动物宿主并引起疾病的机制以及宿主对这些微生物病原体的反应将在来自不同门的微生物之间共享共同特征，即，原生动物蠕虫细菌和病毒一个必然的结果是，相同的技术可以应用于调查微生物毒力/宿主对不同病原体的反应。微生物和宿主蛋白质组学、代谢组学、深度测序、调控RNA和成像方面的进展极大地改变了我们处理宿主-寄生虫关系背后关键问题的能力。寄生虫培训计划的这一机制体现了研究不同病原微生物的研究人员之间寄生虫研究的综合方法，但对微生物的生存机制和宿主的防御策略有共同的兴趣。在最初资助的14年中，寄生虫机制计划共支持了63名学员（34名前博士和29名博士后）。事实上，所有这些受训者今天都留在科学界，其中许多早期的人现在都在终身学术职位上。我们计划的主要特点是每周寄生虫杂志俱乐部/研究会议，整个计划的年度正式介绍，赞助外部演讲者，以及促进我们的学员使用新技术和设备的机制。我们的申请人与选定的学员的比例很高（13：1 predoc和11：1 postdoc），我们预计博士后申请将进一步增加。在本申请中，我们要求（1）从3个增加到4个博士后职位;（2）每年继续支持4名博士前学员;（3）扩大我们的每周研究会议，包括“技术主题”，旨在为学员提供生物信息学，蛋白质组学，统计学和统计遗传学以及显微镜的最新技术的背景和功能使用;（4）扩大我们邀请和接待外部演讲者的学员参与，以及（5）专注于当前研究气候所特有的职业发展需求。在过去的14年里，我们的计划一直非常富有成效。我们的目标是创造性地和不断地改善环境和机会，为学员在微生物感染期间从事宿主-微生物平衡的不同方面工作。 公共卫生相关性：引起人类疾病的寄生虫、细菌和病毒都精心设计了策略，以避免免疫反应，存活并引起疾病。在我们设计和实施控制这些感染的策略之前，对这种寄生关系的理解是至关重要的。寄生虫培训计划的机制旨在为研究生和博士后研究员提供一个支持和培养的环境，以应用统一的方法来研究影响人类的各种传染病。