BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AWARDED GRANT FROM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH

October 8, 2003

UNM BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AWARDED GRANT FROM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

The University of New Mexico Biology Department received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program in “Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology.”

“The grant, a partnership between the Biology Department, Computer Science Department and the Los Alamos National Labs, is designed to enhance the level of funding for states that have traditionally been underrepresented in NIH funding,” said Eric Loker, chair and Regents’ professor of Biology.

The primary goal of the proposal is to establish a research center at UNM with a thematic focus in the disciplines of theoretical and evolutionary immunobiology. The center aims to strengthen ties among senior investigators creating a nurturing and vibrant environment where junior scholars with interests in these disciplines can prosper intellectually, and to become independently funded to pursue interests in these areas.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us here in Biology because it will provide us with things that would be difficult to get otherwise, including hiring new faculty, purchasing new equipment and renovating part of Castetter Hall to build labs to accommodate new faculty and to support research project.

“This grant allows us to build a novel program and it will help us to build a real international presence in this area,” Loker said.

As part of the grant, UNM will foster increased connectivity with noted investigators having similar interests at UNM, including the Computer Science Department and LANL. The Santa Fe Institute, which is also a collaborator, will help to foster close ties among the investigators and will serve as a venue for many programmatic events.

Four mentors and research areas connected to theoretical and evolutionary biology are also featured as part of the program including: Luis Cadavid, assistant professor, Biology (evolution of non-self recognition in marine organisms); Terran Lane, assistant professor, Computer Science (exploring similarities between computer and biological defense systems); William Hlavacek of LANL (modeling of internal cell signaling pathways associated with immune systems) and Si Ming Zhang, research assistant professor in Biology (study of the defense systems of snails that transmit human pathogens). Other projects will likely involve the study of immune systems of non-traditional mammalian models, including marsupials like opossums and monotremes like the duck-billed platypus.

“Students, both undergraduate and graduate, with the help of this COBRE grant, will have increased opportunities for research experience in state-of-the-art facilities,” said Rob Miller, associate professor and Regents’ Lecturer, and associate chair in the Biology Department. “This kind of funding raises the stature of the department in the field of evolutionary immunology. It will add a new dimension to the department and will help knit our existing programs together.”

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