PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF INTESTINAL ALLERGY

The objective of the proposal outlined is to provide a 5-yr research and career development program for Deborah A. Russell, D.V.M., M.S. under the sponsorship of Gilbert A. Castro, Ph. D., Professor, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Dennis Kohn, D.V.M., Ph. D., Chairman, Department of Comparative Medicine will serve as co-sponsor. The candidate will have an academic appointment in the Dept. of Comparative Medicine. Her research will be supported by the vast physical resources and investigative expertise within the Dept. of Physiology and Cell Biology. Dr. Russell will be given maximum latitude for expressing her creativity and independence in the laboratory where she will spend 80% of her time. Her research will entail an extension of her own ideas and is based on results that she has obtained from preliminary studies. The guinea pig-Trichinella spiralis, host-parasite system will be used as a model to assess the influence of immediate hypersensitivity reactions (local anaphylaxis) in small intestinal mucosa on epithelial function. Sensitive electrophysiological and isotope tracer techniques in combination with immunological manipulations of the host will be used to study epithelial ion transport properties (Na+ and Cl- transport) and to identify cellular and subcellular pathways that integrate the immunological and other physiological systems. Results will contribute to the assessment of the underlying hypothesis that immunological elements, like neural and hormonal factors, regulate physiological functions in the gastrointestinal tract. Both the pathophysiological and immunophysiological implications of system interactions will be explored, ie. potential adverse and beneficial effects on the host. Twenty percent of Dr. Russell's time will involve nonresearch activities. She will attend faculty meetings; assist, nominally, in clinical and teaching duties; present seminars; present papers at scientific meetings; write scientific papers; visit selected laboratories in which related research is being performed. The entire program is designed to develop Dr. Russell as a scientist, academician and scholar. The aim is to provide resources, appropriate role models and a generally supportive environment to aid her in becoming an established, independent investigator who will be competitive for faculty positions at major universities within the United States.