Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Simon Fraser University has made an enormous investment in research and training in infectious diseases and immunology as part of its Strategic Research Plan. In developing this area, SFU has provided a Canada Research Chair for my research in HIV-1 and vaccines, hired a new interdisciplinary research group in HIV/AIDS, built a new animal care and CL3-biocontainment facilities. SFU is also launching a novel interdisciplinary graduate program in infectious diseases and immunology. The SensiQ Pioneer instrument measures the strength of interaction between biomolecules by measuring association and dissociation events of single molecules in real time; examples of such interactions include binding between antibody and antigen, T-cell receptor and MHC:peptide complex, receptor and its ligand (including drugs that activate or inhibit signaling), and enzyme and its substrate (including in drug inhibitors). SFU does not have an instrument with this capability, and the ability to measure affinity, its separate on- and off-rate components, and to perform thermodynamic analyses, would be a huge boon to infectious disease research, particularly vaccine and drug design, and would support faculty and trainees in this area.