PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT I have the ideal level of experience and institutional environment to maximally benefit from a Career Development Award. My research experiences started as an undergraduate when I was part of a research team who solved an RNA structure using NMR spectroscopy. I followed this project with a Cancer Research Training Award and an intensive research experience at the NIH. After focusing on clinical care during medical school and pediatric residency training, I returned to basic science research as a pediatric infectious diseases fellow. I was granted a prestigious Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Fellowship Award which supported my fellowship research and a 4th year of mentored research as junior faculty. Mentored by Dr. Sarah Gaffen, I contributed to studies on the innate and adaptive host responses to mucosal Candida infections and initiated work on the relationship of neutrophils and IL-17 in oropharyngeal candidiasis. I also investigated the contribution of IL-17 to fungal burden and disease pathology in disseminated candidiasis. In all, I am an author on 9 manuscripts relating to candidiasis and/or IL-17 of which 4 are first authorships. My research projects have continued since starting as an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in August, 2014. The environment at MCW provides an outstanding venue for the proposed project. In particular, the vibrant campus Immunology group encourages collaboration and interaction. Although I continue to collaborate with Dr. Gaffen, I have established relevant mentorship for my current project with experts in chemokine structural biology and mucosal immunology (Drs. Brian Volkman and Mitchell Grayson, respectively). My laboratory participates in immunology, microbiology, and infectious diseases seminars. I have excellent lab space, ample support for animal studies, and access to all equipment and core resources required for the completion of this project including flow cytometers, histology services, and biostatistics support through the MCW Children’s Research Institute. My overall career goal is to be an independent, NIH-funded physician scientist focused on translational research in mucosal immunology as it relates to fungal infections. I am guided by my advisory Mentorship Committee, composed of local experts in mucosal immunology, structural biology, antimicrobial peptides, cellular immunology, chemokines, and pathogenesis (mentors Volkman and Grayson, as well as Drs. Nita Salzman, Bonnie Dittel, Michael Dwinell, and Jenifer Coburn). I plan training and mentorship activities to augment my knowledge of the responsible conduct of research, manuscript and grant reviews, and research- related topics including tissue culture, chemotaxis, rodent necropsy, histological techniques, mucosal immunology, and biostatistics. During the latter two years of the award period I intend to write and submit a successful NIH R01 application. In terms of ongoing guidance and...