Autophagy is a rapidly developing field. It has translational potential in inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmunity, classical and emerging infections, obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and aging. The proposed interdisciplinary Autophagy, Inflammation, and Metabolism (AIM) Center will explore physiological processes and disease states through the lens of autophagy.
AIM seeks to enable mentored principal investigators (mPIs) to achieve funding independence and pursue innovative and competitive research.
AIM 's unique theme links autophagy with inflammation and metabolism in different health and disease states. Autophagy studies require technological infrastructure, expert investigators, organized mentoring, vigorous exchange of scientific ideas, and administrative support. An effective Administrative Core (AC) will establish requisites, provide administrative leadership, ensure mentoring excellence, and foster technological and scientific cohesiveness.
Specific Aim 1. Provide scientific leadership and direction for the AIM Center along with research, administrative, and fiscal support plus a physical home.
AIM leadership, with Internal and External Advisory boards, will establish, maintain, and develop the Center's scientific direction. AC will interface with other CoBRE and IDeA centers. In its newly renovated physical home, AIM will house a conference room, space for scientific cores, small administrative office, and open laboratory space for activities and technical workshops.
Specific Aim 2. Coordinate research infrastructure, mentoring, and evaluative efforts; career development for mentored PIs; and success of the Center. AC will direct and integrate AIM center activities, and mentor and train junior investigators, through Individual Development Plans. Assessments will monitor progress toward R01 funding. AC will organize, deliver, and evaluate mentoring skills for mentors and research and professional skills for mentees. Seminars, periodic technical workshops, surveys, and reports will provide feedback on mPI research, scientific cores performance, and overall AIM Center progress. Activities will be assessed by evaluative strategies and recommendations implemented.
Specific Aim 3. Develop and support a growing community of AIM investigators and increase impact of the Center upon the state and regional scientific enterprise and infrastructure. Collaborative research, shared facilities and resources, seminars, workshops, and conferences are key to developing a functioning community of investigators working on scientific problems aligned with the AIM thematic areas. AC will serve as the anchor for AIM related scientific community activities, and coordinate interactions with UNM HSC campus investigators, all UNM HSC Signature Programs, Clinical and Translational Science Center, the existing New Mexico IDeA Centers, and the wider regional and national audience and entities.
Autophagy is a novel, medically highly relevant process operational in all healthy human cells. Because of its broad medical relevance in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, aging, dangerous infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer, etc., the study of autophagy is a rapidly developing scientific field. This relatively recent area of research is coming into its prime through the realization by investigators in many disciplines that understanding autophagy will inform them in a new way, along with development of new treatments, about many diseases where roadblocks to further progress using traditional approaches have been encountered. The Autophagy, Inflammation and Metabolism (AIM) in disease Center of Biomedical Research Excellence will not only achieve the local impact by enhancing research base in New Mexico but will also represent a nationally important center for advancement of research on autophagy in disease. The AIM Administrative Core is necessary to provide leadership, organization, scientific, administrative, evaluative, and fiscal oversight of operations of the AIM center.
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