Center for Research on Processes in Evolution

描述（由申请人提供）：微生物在与人类寿命相比迅速的时间尺度上进化。当耐药性的进化、疫苗的逃逸或新疾病超过了我们通过医疗技术跟上的能力时，人类健康就会面临重大挑战。更好地理解导致和限制这些事件的力量是预测或避免微生物进化引起的问题所必需的。在爱达荷州大学进化过程研究中心进行的基础研究调查了关键诱变过程的重要性和后果，确定了进化过程中出现的变化模式，开发和测试了理解这些模式的模型，并设计了分析大型遗传数据集的方法。该中心的多学科研究计划的特点是经验和理论研究的耦合，对假设的严格测试的强烈导向，以及从生物学，生物化学，数学，统计学和计算机科学的专业知识的融合，以创建富有成效的跨学科团队的调查。该中心的组织和管理，以解决以下具体目标：（1）进行领先的计算和进化生物学的多学科研究;（2）在爱达荷州的进化生物学生物医学研究的基础。(3)指导COBRE研究人员开发具有国家竞争力的独立资助的研究项目;（4）过渡到独立于NIH-IDEA计划资助的自我维持中心。与公共卫生的相关性：微生物的快速进化导致了一些最令人担忧的人类健康危机，包括新的流行病和广泛的耐药性的出现。传统的微生物进化方法关注特定病原体的分子细节或忽略分子细节的理论模型。爱达荷州大学的进化过程研究中心采用了广泛的跨学科方法，结合了分子细节，种群结构和动态，以及对人类微生物组生态的理解。这种对微生物进化的综合观点是将该领域推向更有用的预测科学的下一个必要步骤。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Microbes evolve on a time scale that is rapid compared to the human life span. Major challenges to human health arise when evolution of drug resistance, vaccine escape, or new diseases surpass our ability to keep up through medical technology. A better understanding of the forces that cause and limit these events is required to anticipate or avoid problems caused by microbial evolution. Fundamenal research done in the Center for Research on Processes in Evolution at the University of Idaho investigates the importance and consequences of critical mutagenic processes, identifies patterns of change that emerge during the course of evolution, develops and tests models to understand these patterns, and devises means to analyze large genetic data sets. Hallmarks of the Center's multidisciplinary research program are the coupling of empirical and theoretical research, a strong orientation toward rigorous testing of hypotheses, and the blending of expertise from biology, biochemistry, mathematics, statistics, and computer science to create productive interdisciplinary teams of investigators. The Center is organized and administered to address the following specific aims: (1) Conduct leading-edge multidisciplinary research in computational and evolutionary biology; (2) Broaden the base of biomedical research in evolutionary biology at the University of Idaho. (3) Mentor COBRE investigators to develop nationally competitive, independently-funded research programs; and (4) Transition to a self-sustaining Center that is independent of funding from the NIH-IDeA Program. Relevance to public health: The rapid evolution of microorganisms contributes to some of the most alarming projected crises for human health, including the emergence of new pandemics and widespread drug resistance. Traditional approaches to microbial evolution focus on the molecular details specific to particular pathogens or on theoretical models that ignore the molecular details. The Center for Research on Processes in Evolution at the University of Idaho takes a broad interdisciplinary approach that incorporates molecular details, population structure and dynamics, and an appreciation for the ecology of the human microbiome. This integrated view of microbial evolution is the next necessary step to move the field toward a more useful predictive science.