Custom platform for evaluation of conserved mechanisms of fever

我的实验室最近发现了最具决定性的功能性论点，证明了发烧在5亿多年的进化中是保守的。研究结果为泛加拿大和国际合作研究提供了许多有意义的机会。不幸的是，实验需要太长时间（在首次发表的数字中，仅进行发热诱导和监测部分的实验需要778天;完成首次发表需要近5年）。我们绝对需要升级设备，以增加我们的1）能力，以扩大评估到更大的队列，和2）处理更长的发热评估数据集。这将大大提高吞吐量，并使我们能够解决这项研究的核心问题。例如，评估发烧对减少疾病传播的贡献至关重要，因为这需要混合种群（即感染不同程度的动物）的同居形式。这对于了解关键的公共和动物健康影响非常重要。已经制定了一项计划，以确保这一设备的可持续性，包括建立伙伴关系，继续为定制分析软件套件增加功能。拟议的基础设施与任何其他当前或正在进行的赠款申请之间在概念或预算上没有重叠。总之，所要求的分析系统将有助于加拿大处于发热研究的最前沿，并提供一个可行的途径，将基本的比较生物学知识转化为有益于加拿大人的应用。它还将为加拿大和国外的合作开辟新的机会。24名高素质人员（HQP）将在未来3年内直接将所要求的基础设施应用于培训（2名PDF，2名博士，3名硕士，14名UG，2名技术人员）。其中5名受训人员已经到位。我的实验室在HQP开发方面有着卓越的记录（74名学员; 109个奖项，包括2个著名的NSERC Vanier奖学金）。拟议的技术套件将为这种跨学科培训提供一个新的层面，并为职业利基发展提供机会。随着我们的研究在本地和国际上的应用，HQP将有大量的机会，这些机会将受到高度重视和市场化。

My lab has recently identified the most conclusive functional arguments for the conservation of fever for over 500 million years of evolution. The results have opened a number of meaningful opportunities for pan-Canadian and international collaborative research. Unfortunately, experiments take too long (778 days to simply conduct the fever inducing and monitoring components of experiments in first publication figure; nearly 5 years to complete first publication). We absolutely require upgraded equipment to increase our 1) Capacity to scale--up evaluations to larger cohorts, and 2) Process longer fever evaluation datasets. This will greatly improve throughput and allow us to tackle central questions for this research. For example, it will be critical to assess the contributions of fever to reduction of disease transmission since these require mixed populations (i.e. animals infected at different levels) in a cohabitation format. This is important to understand key public and animal health implications. A plan is already in place to ensure sustainability of this equipment, including a partnership to continue to add functionality to the custom analytical software suite. There is no conceptual or budgetary overlap between the proposed infrastructure and requests under any other current or ongoing grant application. In all, the requested analysis system will help position Canada at the forefront of fever research, and provide a viable avenue to translate fundamental comparative biological knowledge into applications that benefit Canadians. It will also open new opportunities for collaborations in Canada and abroad. 24 highly qualified personnel (HQP) will directly apply the requested infrastructure to their training over the next 3 years (2 PDF, 2 PhD, 3 MSc, 14 UGs, 2 Techs). Five of these trainees are already in place. My lab has a proven record of excellence in HQP development (74 trainees; 109 awards including 2 prestigious NSERC Vanier Scholarships). The proposed technology suite will provide a new dimension in this interdisciplinary training and opportunities for career niche development. As our research advances into applications locally and internationally there will be a host of opportunities for HQP that will be highly valued and marketable.