|
Signature Research Programs
home
Child Health Research
Brain and Behavioral Illnesses
Cancer
Cardiovascular and Metabolic
Disease
Environmental Health
Sciences
Infectious Diseases
and Immunity
Research Education
College of Pharmacy
School of
Medicine
|
Signature Program in Infectious Diseases and Immunity
The Signature Program in Infectious Disease and Immunity comprises six
major emphases:
-
basic immune mechanisms
-
pulmonary immunity and infectious disease
-
basic microbial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interaction
-
bio-defense
-
emerging infectious disease with an emphasis on tuberculosis and
viruses that are associated with New Mexico’s population (e,g.-
Hantavirus, West Nile)
-
infectious etiologies of cancer (HPV, Hepatitis B and C, and HTLV)
Current NIH-funded, multi-departmental and interdisciplinary programs
include:
-
The Asthma Specialized Center of Research
-
The Hantavirus Ecology and Disease in Chile and Panama program
-
The Major Histocompatibility Program in Primates
-
The Pulmonary Response to Category A Bio-threats program
-
The Tularemia Vaccine Development Team
-
The Response to Vaccines and Infectious Diseases program
-
NIAID-funded T32 training grant for pre- and post-doctoral training
This program is emblematic of the collaborative links between UNM and
the computational research activities of Sandia National Laboratories
and the unique strengths in inhalational toxicology and primate research
at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute.
The goal in this Research Program is to develop and enhance collaborative
programs among researchers, physicians and businesses in New Mexico to
address the threat of infectious and immunologically-mediated inflammatory
diseases in New Mexican populations and the world by characterizing epidemiologic
issues, studying basic host-pathogen mechanisms, developing new vaccines,
therapeutics, and diagnostics, and testing the preventive, therapeutic
and diagnostic efficacy of these discoveries in clinical trials.
Programmatic Structure
There are six major programmatic emphases:
-
Basic immune mechanisms
-
Pulmonary immunity and infectious disease
-
Basic microbial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interaction
-
Biodefense
-
Emerging infectious disease with an emphasis on tuberculosis and
viruses that are associated with New Mexico’s population (hantavirus
, West Nile)
-
Infectious etiology of cancer (HPV, Hepatitis B and C and HTLV -
overlaps Cancer Signature Program)
Program Focus and Strengths
Current Large Project Strengths involving multi departmental/ multidisciplinary
and multi-institutional programs are as follows:
-
Asthma Specialized Center of Research. NIH funded P50 consisting
of 3 projects and 3 cores to study the basic mechanisms of the cause
of asthma and the mechanisms by which anti IgE therapy reduces clinical
disease in asthma volunteers. LRRI is partner.
-
ICIDR: Hantavirus Ecology and Disease in Chile and Panama. NIH-funded
program that supports a collaboration between UNMHSC and Panama and
Chile to improve surveillance, diagnostics and therapeutics for hantavirus
infections in Chile and Panama.
-
Major Histocompatibility Program in Primates. NIH-funded contract
to study the the major histocompatibility region of primates and develop
tools that can be applied to these in order to enhance our ability
to extrapolate immunologic studies in primates to humans.
-
Pulmonary response to Category A Biothreats. NIH-funded Program Project
(PO1) to examine the basic pulmonary inflammatory and immune response
to biothreats delivered via the lung, including anthrax, plague and
poxviruses in order to identify targets for vaccines, therapeutics
and diagnostics . Lovelac, Azirona State University, and Duke University
are partners.
-
Tularemia vaccine Development Team . NIH-funded contract consisting
of a focused preclinical effort to develop the appropriate animal
models and guidelines for developing a vaccine against tularemia and
to identify potential vaccine candidates for a product. Another outcome
for the studies will be to design an applicable model for developing
vaccines against other low prevalence, high morbidity emerging infectionssuch
as against hantavirus, SARS and avian flu. LLRI, Arizona State University,
Cerus Inc, and UT San Antonio are partners.
-
Response to Vaccines and Infectious Diseases. NIH-funded contract
that will examine the genetic basis for why different individuals
within the same population have a greater susceptibility or resistance
to specific infections and vaccines. DeCode Genetics and the National
Center for Genome Resources are partners.
5 year goals
Education
-
1 new or expanded training grant with associated two new postdoctoral
positions an two new graduate student positions; and /or obtain a
COBRE for new faculty recruits.
-
Create a new basic microbiology course for Biomedical Sciences.
Clinical research and activity
-
Recruit at least two new faculty members with a research emphasis
on vaccine prevention/ immunologically–mediated diseases / international
health.
-
Two junior clinical researchers receive RO1s or equivalent to study
some aspect of infectious diseases and/or immunity.
-
Two new clinical trials to study infections /vaccines/immune mediated
disease in human populations
Research
-
2 new program projects or equivalent
-
1 new grant in collaboration with National labs
-
Recruitment of two basic scientist: a bacterial geneticist and an
arbovirologist
-
Recruit an infectious disease epidemiologist
|
