Meeting Abstract

P1.147  Wednesday, Jan. 4  A Research Coordination Network in Ecological Immunology (RCNE) MARTIN, LB*; ARDIA, DR; HAWLEY, DM; University of South Florida; Franklin and Marshall College; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University lmartin@cas.usf.edu

Ecological immunology, or eco-immunology, is a burgeoning field, as evidenced by high citation rates of its many papers, three special journal issues, and several symposia at meetings throughout the world. In 2010, the National Science Foundation funded a Research Coordination Network in Ecological Immunology to foster conceptual and technical development of the field. Since funding, the RCNE has flourished, including: spawning of several collaborations between members; holding topical workshops in Florida, Scotland and (in late 2012) Virginia; establishing an email list-serv; supporting trainee research exchanges; and producing a website (www.ecoimmunology.org). We present this poster to increase the visibility and membership of the RCNE and spur interest in developing a Division of Disease Ecology within SICB or a stand-alone society. A new SICB division or stand-alone society would be inclusive of researchers working at molecular to landscape scales generally interested in the evolutionary ecology of host-parasite interactions. Indeed, future RCNE workshops are being planned to take this form including being open to interested non-members of the RCNE. The second goal of this poster is to highlight the possible outcomes of RCNs that facilitate interactions among diverse researchers: preliminary results from a meta-analysis of the costs of immune function, a paradigm that shaped research in the field. Information will be provided on joining the RCNE, on access to protocol and other materials, and on funds available to facilitate training in eco-immunological methods for scientists at all levels.