The Cleveland Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (DDRCC)

OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY This application is to continue funding for the Cleveland Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (DDRCC), a combined effort between Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF). The Cleveland DDRCC's mission is to: 1) enhance the research capabilities of Center investigators, 2) develop programs to support independent development of junior investigators, 3) attract established investigators not currently involved in digestive and liver inflammation research to apply their expertise to this important field, and 4) facilitate translation of basic research discoveries to the clinical arena. This multi-disciplinary Center currently includes 38 full and 23 associate members from 23 different academic departments across CWRU and the CCF, who together comprise the DDRCC Research Base, which currently consists of $19.0 million per year in annual direct costs from peer-reviewed federal and foundation grants (48 NIH, 5 DOD, 11 private foundation), all specifically related to the Center’s re-focused central theme: Mechanisms of Digestive and Liver Inflammation. Our central theme has five areas of emphasis, each with a strong history of collaborative investigations at CWRU and the CCF: 1) IBD & Intestinal Inflammation, 2) Gut Microbiome & Inflammation, 3) Liver Inflammation, 4) Barrett’s Esophagus & Esophageal Inflammation, 5) HIV-induced Digestive Immunometabolism & Inflammation. The Cleveland DDRCC enjoys strong institutional support, including significant matching funds from both CWRU and the CCF to increase the impact of digestive and liver disease research in Cleveland, and includes three biomedical research cores (Biorepository, Histology/Imaging, and Mouse Models), all of which demonstrate high levels of use by Center members and beyond, and promote important scientific discoveries in digestive and liver diseases. Each Core includes both a set of high-volume standard services that are best provided as a shared resource to optimize cost-efficiency and quality control, as well as cutting-edge advanced services and technologies that may not otherwise be available to our Research Base investigators. The Core laboratories interface with each other and with an Administrative Core, which oversees the financial management and operation of the DDRCC and supports a successful Pilot & Feasibility Program to promote innovative research projects by mostly junior investigators new to digestive and liver inflammation, as well as a clinical element for study design and bioinformatic consultations and a dynamic Enrichment Program that supports meetings of the Midwest DDRCC Research Alliance, the Cleveland International Digestive Education and Science (IDEAS) Symposia, a Young Investigators Network, and multiple workshops. The overall objective of the Cleveland DDRCC is to increase the availability of Core resources for Center members and foster research, collaborations, and new directions in digestive and liver inflammation, leading to important scientific discoveries.