COBRE CENTER FOR EVOLUTIONARY AND THEORETICAL IMMUNOLOGY

描述（由申请人提供）： 目前在新墨西哥州工作的学者社区中存在着进化/比较和理论免疫生物学领域的独特专业知识融合。 该提案的主要目标是，通过COBRE计划提供的机会，在新墨西哥州大学建立一个研究中心，以这些学科为主题。 该中心将加强这些高级研究人员之间的联系，从而创造一个培育和充满活力的环境，使对理论和进化免疫生物学感兴趣的初级学者能够在智力上蓬勃发展，并获得独立资助，以追求他们在这一领域的兴趣。 该提案建立在UNM生物学系为加强这一研究领域所做的切实承诺的基础上，并将促进与新墨西哥州大学（UNM）计算机科学系和洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室（LANL）有类似兴趣的优秀研究人员的联系。 圣达菲研究所位于新墨西哥大学和LANL之间，过去曾在导师之间建立了密切的联系，并将成为许多方案活动的场所。 免疫学的进化和理论方面越来越需要在NIH的范围内。 事实上，人们越来越意识到，在面对感染性生物或肿瘤时，理解宿主防御系统如何工作的坚实理论基础的巨大价值。 此外，我们对先天免疫（包括人类先天免疫）这一重要但被忽视的领域的理解，由于果蝇的发现而得到了显著的推进，指出了比较模型在阐明哺乳动物免疫系统功能方面的价值。 我们寻求创造一个环境，定期将理论家和生物学家聚集在一起，从而获得关于免疫系统如何进化以及如何实现可持续和有效防御病原体的新理论和历史观点。 该计划包括四个项目，由目前正在进行的优秀和合格的研究人员进行。 它还将使我们能够聘请新的教师，以获得在这些研究领域的额外临界质量，并提供急需的资金，以加强我们的研究人员的研究基础设施。 概述的研究领域被科学界公认为令人兴奋和重要的。 新墨西哥州在这些领域的领导地位越来越高，它们提供了一个新的机会，可以宣传一个方兴未艾的领域，在这个领域，新墨西哥人可以定义最前沿的领域，而这个领域在世界其他任何地方都不容易复制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A unique confluence of expertise in the areas of evolutionary/ comparative and theoretical immunobiology currently exists among the community of scholars working in New Mexico. The primary goal of this proposal is, through the opportunities provided by the COBRE program; establish a research center at the University of New Mexico with a thematic focus in these disciplines. The center will strengthen the ties among these senior investigators and so create a nurturing and vibrant environment where junior scholars with interests in theoretical and evolutionary immunobiology can prosper intellectually and become independently funded to pursue their interests in this area. This proposal builds on a tangible commitment made by the Department of Biology at UNM to strengthen this research area, and will foster increased connectivity with outstanding investigators with similar interests in University of New Mexico (UNM) Department of Computer Science and the Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL). The Santa Fe Institute (SFI), located midway between UNM and LANL, has in the past fostered close ties between the mentors and will serve as a venue for many programmatic events. Evolutionary and theoretical aspects of immunology increasingly need to lie within the purview of the NIH. Indeed, there is a growing awareness of the great value of a solid theoretical basis for understanding how host defense systems work when confronted with infectious organisms or neoplasia. Also, our understanding of the important but neglected field of innate immunity, including human innate immunity, has been significantly advanced by discoveries made with fruit flies, pointing out the value of comparative models in illuminating the functions of mammalian immune systems. We seek to create an environment that regularly brings theoreticians and empiricists together, thus gaining new theoretical and historical perspectives on how immune systems evolve, and how sustainable and effective defense from pathogens is achieved. This program features four projects by outstanding and eligible investigators who are currently in place. It will also enable us to hire new faculty members to gain additional critical mass in these research areas, and provides urgently needed funds to strengthen the research infrastructure for our investigators. The research areas outlined are recognized by the scientific community as exciting and important. New Mexico has a growing reputation of leadership in these areas, and they present a novel opportunity to promulgate an ascendant field in which New Mexicans can define the cutting edge and that can not be easily duplicated anywhere else in the world.