Support for Enhancement Excellence in Research at UPR-RP

描述（由申请人提供）：此补充申请要求在波多黎各大学（b里约热内卢Piedras）的SCORE计划中增加四个新项目。项目包括三个来自生物系，一个来自化学系。一个来自生物学（马尔多纳多）和另一个来自化学（罗德里格斯）是根据我们的SCORE应用程序摘要声明中报告的批评修改的申请。另一个来自最近聘用的微生物学家（Dominguez），另一个来自参加上一个资助周期的经验丰富的研究者（Renaud）。所有这些共同补充了在MBRS计划主持下进行了超过32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）。这些新项目旨在在以下领域开展竞争性研究：拉丁美洲幽门螺杆菌的生物统计学多样性（Dominguez），谷氨酸在药物调节中的作用（Maldonado），阿片类药物戒断对人类巨噬细胞的影响（Renaud），以及来自加勒比海洋无脊椎动物的新型抗癌和抗菌药物（Rodriguez）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This supplemental application requests the addition of four new 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. One from Biology (Maldonado) and another from Chemistry (Rodriguez) are revised applications according to the critiques reported in the summary statement for our SCORE application. Another is presented from a recently hired microbiologist (Dominguez) and the other is from an experienced investigator that participated in the previous grant cycle (Renaud). All together complement biomedical research efforts at UPR-RP that have been ongoing for over 32 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: biodemographic diversity of Helicobacter pylori in Latin America (Dominguez), the role of glutamate in drug conditioning (Maldonado), the effect of opiate withdrawal on human macrophages (Renaud), and novel anticancer and antibacterial drugs from Caribbean marine invertebrates (Rodriguez). 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.