Career Development Projects
(for detailed project description please click on the Project Number)

The purpose of the Career Development Awards for the Pacific Northwest Regional Center of Excellence (PNWRCE) is to provide a route for junior investigators to begin research projects of interest to biodefense and emerging infectious diseases. There are two categories of awards: Junior Faculty Awards (2 awards at $100,000 per year for 2 years) and Postdoctoral Awards (2 awards for $100,000 per year for 2 years). Junior Faculty Awards are typically made to individuals at the Assistant Professor, Research Assistant Professor, or equivalent level who have long-term commitments from their institutions. Postdoctoral Awards are made to individuals performing postdoctoral training under a faculty mentor. Research projects must center on an infectious organism or immune response that is of designated importance to biodefense or emerging infectious diseases. Projects are given priority if they are relevant to the two major themes of the PNWRCE: i) systems biology approaches to pathogen-host interactions or mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity, or ii) age-related defects in the immune system. Awardees must designate a senior faculty mentor, must present project reports at the annual meeting of the PNWRCE, and must demonstrate through these reports that the project is proceeding successfully. A major objective is to attract junior scientists, especially women and minorities, to research on biodefense and emerging infectious diseases.

CD001    Induction and evasion of the innate immune response by Chikungunya virus
               Victor DeFilippis, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University

CD002    Innate Immune Response of alveolar Epithelial Cells to Coronavirus Infection
               Tanya Muira, Ph.D., University of Idaho

CD003    Aging and innate immune functions of macrophages
               Georgiana Purdy, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University



Developmental Projects

DP001    Poxviral inhibition of RNaseL activity
               Adam Geballe, M.D.,  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

DP002    Hantavirus vaccines and immunopathology
               David Johnson, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University 

DP003    Impact of aging on inflammatory signals and protective immunity
               Kaja Murali-Krishna, Ph.D., University of Washington

DP004    Mechanisms of drug resistance in the emerging pathogen Cryptococcus gattii 
               Brian Wong, M.D., Oregon Health & Science University