The Region X Northwest Regional Center of Excellence (NWRCE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases is an essential component in a nationwide network of biomedical research programs to combat infectious disease threats to the population. The NWRCE is currently a highly interactive and thematic program focused on Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The same general consistent focus has existed since its inception. There are three themes: (1) mechanisms of Gram-negative bacterial pathogenesis, (2) innate immune responses to Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, and (3) translation of (1) and (2) into early stage therapeutic development to prevent or treat Gram-negative bacterial diseases. The NWRCE is centered at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle;in this renewal application, multiple sites are proposed in Seattle, two in Oregon, one in Idaho, and one in Maryland. The NWRCE has included the NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratory since its inception and this relationship will continue and grow as part of this renewal as collaborations are expanded to include tularemia as well as plague research. British Columbia is also in our geographic region and collaboration is proposed with the University of Victoria, British Columbia. The NWRCE renewal proposes three international sites: Thailand, Sweden, and Mexico. The projects, cores, domestic and international sites, as well as collaborators, are highly interactive. The individuals that make up this proposal have worked together for many years during the last funding period and before the RCE was funded. The majority of investigators newly added to this to this application for renewed funding of the NWRCE have had long collaborative relationships with members of the center. The interactive nature and focus of the NWRCE is a major strength of the program and allows the NWRCE to rapidly and nimbly respond to national priorities to achieve important objectives with respect to Gram-negative bacterial infections.
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