Assistant Professor Nolwenn M. Dheilly received an award of nearly $25,000 from the Eppley Foundation of Research to develop a model system to study microbiome-parasite interactions. The grant will allow the comparative analysis of the microbiome of healthy and parasitized Threespine Sticklebacks and of its tapeworm parasite Schistocephalus solidus, collected from lakes in Anchorage, Alaska this autumn. This is the first necessary step to her long-term goal to investigate the impact of microbe interactions with parasite on the parasite fitness, and on the evolution of virulence strategies. Dr. Dheilly says that this research will be complementary to ongoing research on the role of microbes in host defense systems and as such it will provide a foundation to develop new therapeutic design strategies. This grant will also allow students working on the project with the unique opportunity to carry out viral and bacterial metagenomics analyses.

Incorporated in 1947, the Eppley Foundation for Research funds projects “increasing knowledge in pure or applied science…in chemistry, physics and biology through study, research and publication.” Particular areas of interest include innovative medical investigations and applications, endangered animals and ecosystems, and climate change.  The Foundation was established by Captain Marion Eppley, a Princeton-educated physical chemist, who founded the Eppley Laboratory in Newport, RI, in 1917 to manufacture standard cells.