The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is committed to a vigorous research environment that is competitive nationally and responsive locally and regionally to the special health care needs of New Mexico. Biomedical research in the HSC is organized around multidisciplinary core programs in Epidemiology and Population Health, Immunology and Cell Biology, and Molecular Genetics and Virology and a developing Neurosciences program. Disease emphases within and between these programs include cancer, asthma, diabetes, and infectious diseases important to the health of New Mexico's multi-ethnic (50% non-Hispanic White, 38% Hispanic, 9% American Indian and 2% Black) population. The present application requests funds to support essential equipment purchases and translational personnel in two intensively used shared facilities: Cytometry and Microscopy, that provides resources for flow cytometry, confocal and quantitative microscopy, and spectrofluorometry; and Molecular Analysis, that provides resources for detection and analysis of radioactive and chemofluorescent signals on gels and blots, protein and nucleic acid sequence analysis, molecular modeling, and automated DNA sequencing. By introducing new research technologies and expertise into two shared facilities, we expect to enhance the overall productivity and external funding of all of our research programs. The application also requests funds to support mentored laboratory research projects by four young clinician-investigators with potential to establish externally- funded research programs. Dr. R. Larson will investigate the role of homotypic adhesion of leukemic cells in leukostasis, an important complication of acute myeloid leukemia; Dr. S. Simpson will study mechanisms of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell injury caused by Sin Nombre virus (SNV), the pathogenic agent of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome whose first documented outbreak occurred in 1993 in New Mexico; Dr. H. Smith will explore the roles of colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) and its receptor in the development, proliferation and metastasis of endometrial adenocarcinoma, the most common malignancy of the female genital tract; and Dr. D. Viswanatha will conduct molecular epidemiology studies to define the allele frequency of specific MMR (DNA mismatch repair) genes associated with colon cancers in New Mexico and to establish colorectal cancer screening tools appropriate for our multi-ethnic populations. By supporting young clinical investigators in mentor laboratories, we expect to increase the number of externally-funded clinician-investigators in this Institution, to establish a model for the development of future clinician-investigators, and to sharpen the focus of the core research programs on health issues relevant to the citizens of New Mexico.
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