The Department of Pathology at the University of New Mexico proposes a NIGMS Biomedical Research Core Center (BRCC) in Immunology and Imaging that will recruit and mentor two outstanding PhD, MD or MD/PhD tenure track research faculty at the Assistant Professor level. The recruits will join a department with a new physician/scientist chair, a strong clinical mission and an accomplished research faculty that emphasizes innovative technologies and clinical translation. Pathology research is newly invigorated through the award (active or anticipated) of three major interdisciplinary NIH grants, two from NIGMS and one from the NIH Common Fund. The New Mexico Center for Spatiotemporal Modeling of Cell Signaling (NIH P50GM085273;2009-2014), led by J. Oliver (Pathology), focuses on dynamic high resolution imaging and computational modeling of signaling pathways in mast cells, basophils and other immune cells. The New Mexico Center for Molecular Discovery (NIH U54MH084690;2008-2013), led by L. Sklar (Pathology), uses high throughput flow cytometry and chemiinformatics to discover and develop drugs specific for targets in immune and cancer cells. The New Mexico Academic Science Education and Research Training Program (NIH K12GM088021;2009-2014), led by A. Wandinger-Ness (Pathology), prepares minority (and other) postdocs for success in research and teaching as a means of diversifying the next generation of academic faculty. The Department of Pathology committed in mid-2008 to recruit one or two junior faculty seeking to establish research careers in human immunology complementary to the nascent research centers. The research area was purposely broad (""""""""anti-pathogen immunity, immune surveillance against cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory illnesses or the innate immune system"""""""") and the job description specified applicants """"""""with demonstrated interest/expertise in innovative imaging techniques."""""""" Although recruiting was fully approved by the department and by HR, a University-wide hiring freeze imposed in December 2008 blocked the search. With the infusion of new funding, the Department of Pathology is even more strongly positioned to recruit and mentor two superb young scientists whose interdisciplinary research in immunology and imaging would complement the Pathology-led research centers and whose academic career development would benefit from the Pathology-led training program. Vice-President for Health Sciences, P. Roth, has approved the resumption of the tenure-track search, subject to NIGMS funding, and will guarantee a further two years of partial salary support for the recruits. BRCC laboratories suitable for two recruits have been identified in available Pathology research space and the department will support additional salary, setup and renovation costs. Dedicated BRCC office space is linked to the labs. Faculty recruited to the BRCC in Immunology and Imaging will establish externally-funded interdisciplinary research programs that will grow and flourish for decades beyond the two years of P30 funding.
The immune system protects against diseases, including infection and cancer, using both innate (non-specific) and adaptive (highly specific) mechanisms. Malfunctions in the immune system lead to many human diseases, including allergies, asthma, autoimmune disorders and cancer. The NIGMS Biomedical Research Core Center (BRCC) in Immunology and Imaging in the Department of Pathology at the University of New Mexico will support the recruitment and mentoring to independence of two junior tenure-track faculty who use cutting-edge imaging technologies, in combination with other modern approaches, to understand and prevent infectious and immune diseases.
| Graus, Matthew S; Pehlke, Carolyn; Wester, Michael J et al. (2014) A new tool to quantify receptor recruitment to cell contact sites during host-pathogen interaction. PLoS Comput Biol 10:e1003639 |
