Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease 2015

The goal of the program is to provide opportunities for accomplished investigators still early in their careers to study what happens at the points where human and microbial systems connect. The program supports research that sheds light on the fundamentals that affect the outcomes of this encounter: how colonization, infection, commensalism and other relationships play out at levels ranging from molecular interactions to systemic ones.

Studies supported by the program may have their roots in pathogen or host biology but the focus of the work should be on the interplay of host and microbe.

The program emphasizes research that opens up unexplored areas.  Research on under-studied infectious diseases, including pathogenic fungi, protozoan and metazoan diseases, and emerging infections is especially of interest. In addition, excellent animal models of human disease, including work done in veterinary research settings, are within the program’s scope. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged. This is a career development award for individual investigators and does not support collaborative teams.

The awards are intended to give recipients the freedom and flexibility to pursue high-risk projects and new avenues of inquiry. Work supported will have the potential to significantly advance the understanding of how microbes and the human system interact, especially in the context of infection. Biochemical, pharmacological, molecular, genetic, immunologic, and other approaches are all appropriate for support by the program. Areas of particular interest include:

• Cell/Pathogen interactions—studies of host responses at the cell surface, cell signaling in response to infection, microbial persistence in host cells, and other work.
• Host/Pathogen interactions—studies of how host genetics influences resistance and susceptibility to infection, innate and adaptive immune responses to microbes, pathogen modulation of the immune system, and other work.
• Novel routes to disease causation—studies of the role of infectious agents in the etiology of chronic, autoimmune, and immunologic diseases, and other work.

Approaches that fit into these frameworks might include the study of host susceptibility to particular pathogens, host resistance to chronic or acute disease, or basic studies of infectious microbes—as long as the work is oriented toward understanding how the organism and host interact. Virulence factors, immune mechanisms, and genetic studies in microbes and the host all provide fertile ground for this kind of study. Nominating institutions should note that research on under-funded and under-studied organisms is especially of interest: proposed work in well-funded systems may be viewed as less relevant to the program’s goals.

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. a two-page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach
2. Biosketch or CV of the PI
3. A letter of support from the Dean or Chair. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair have ensured that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally

to research@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Thursday, August 28, 2014. Full proposals are due to the sponsor on 11/3/15, so you will need to have your materials in to the Office of Sponsored Programs by 10/27/14 for processing, if given the go ahead by the Proposal Review Committee.