The candidate for this award is a clinically trained Pediatrician who has served as a Pediatric Instructor of Arkansas Children's Hospital for two years, where she has been honored for her efforts as an educator. She recently finished an intensive four-year fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and will soon hold the rank of an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Clinician Scientist tract. In three years of research training, she has gained experience in techniques of cell biology, immunology, molecular biology, microbiology and most recently, in the use of animal models for experimentation. The candidate's interests in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases combined with her training in cytokine immunology prompted her to become engaged in ongoing research regarding chlamydial genital tract disease in the productive laboratory of Dr. Roger Rank. Dr. Rank is an excellent microbiologist and immunologist with years of basic science research experience in chlamydial disease. The candidate has spent many months learning the microbiology of Chlamydia trachomatis under the guidance of Dr. Rank, and has helped him to investigate the role of tumor necrosis factor in chlamydial disease with the use of his guinea pig model. The candidate desires to further explore the role of cytokines in chlamydial pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as potential cellular immunological mechanisms which lead to tissue damage. Epidemiological evidence suggests that a genetic predisposition to the development of pathology may exist. On the other hand, since certain antigenically distinct serovars produce human genital tract disease more frequently than others, properties specific to the bacterium may also influence the severity of chlamydial disease. The candidate's proposal includes the use of a murine model to explore all of the above possibilities. Dr. Rank will guide the candidate in the continued development of this model; thereby, allowing the candidate to have a project which she can build upon for future independent investigations of chlamydial disease. Her proposal not only includes continued experience in the research lab, but course work in the basic sciences and input from two excellent clinical scientists with expertise in cytokines in host defense against chlamydiae, and basic immunology and molecular biology, respectively. Upon completion of this proposal, the candidate should be equipped to become an independent investigator of chlamydial disease, and will have a large knowledge base in genital tract immunology. Long term goals include expansion of her research efforts to include works relating to the basic immunology of the genital tract and the pathogenesis of sexually transmitted disease.
| Darville, T; Andrews Jr, C W; Laffoon, K K et al. (1997) Mouse strain-dependent variation in the course and outcome of chlamydial genital tract infection is associated with differences in host response. Infect Immun 65:3065-73 |
