The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Immunology at Georgetown exists as a functionally recognized unit of the University and has integrated programs in research, education and patient care, as well as in community outreach, technology transfer and education. The overall proposed program consists of 37 senior investigators representing several basic science and clinical disciplines (physiology, microbiology, virology, immunogenetics, computer sciences, medicine, pulmonology, nephrology, rheumatology, transplantation, infectious diseases and community medicine), all of whom have pooled their expertise and resources in the present CIRID grant proposal. Integral parts of the program include the existing administrative and core facilities which provide not only the clinical and laboratory resources in support of the proposed projects, but also the administrative framework within which the proposed projects will be conducted. The proposal is viewed as an opportunity to strengthen the ongoing projects as well as to institute new research projects. The CIRID support has enhanced the ties between basic and clinical investigators interested in allergic and immunologically mediated diseases and has provided continuing interaction and collaboration within the interdisciplinary matrix of the Immunology Center. The five program areas and seven projects are presented in this proposal which describe the indepth views of the Center investigators who have prepared their proposal in great detail. In some cases, the projects have existing CIRID support and the funds requested will be used to expand these as well as to introduce new projects which have resulted from new leads and new ideas. The seven projects presented in the present proposal reflect the breadth and scope of the expertise of the Interdisciplinary Center in Immunology at Georgetown and range from projects dealing with the development of temperature-sensitive organisms as potential vaccine, to studies of phagocytic cell function in the neonate, to the problem of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in certain selected populations and the studies of the role of natural killer (NK) function in immunoregulation. In addition, to be included in the research programs, the proposal has significantly expanded its community outreach, technology transfer and education programs to include educational programs directed to childhood asthma, as well as to education and risk reduction programs directed at AIDS.
