Clinical - Translational Core

PROJECT SUMMARY – CLINICAL TRANSLATIONAL CORE The Clinical/Translational Core provides an infrastructure and resources for human translational and patient- oriented research. This is accomplished in part by providing translational resources for liver investigators who are basic scientists, such as making bio-specimens available and offering iPSC’s/liver organoids derived from patients with specific diseases. The Core is useful for clinical researchers as well, who also make use of bio- specimens and our patient registry, plus the services of our research coordinator and statisticians. Therefore, the Clinical/Translational Core advances the science and practice of Hepatology through the following specific aims: (1) Provide resources necessary to support clinical and translational research, specifically: (a) biostatistical support, including study design and data analysis, with plans to increase expertise in database research, (b) bioinformatic support, including analysis and interpretation of whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing, RNA-seq, single cell RNA-seq, microRNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and 16S/18S and shotgun metagenomics, (c) patient registry and biospecimen repository, with recent extension of this repository to include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that can be transformed into iPSCs, as well as human bile, both of which can be used in the creation of liver organoids, and (d) staff support, including a research coordinator who can help locate/retrieve biospecimens from the liver center repository or from other relevant repositories at our institution, and a liver pathologist, who is available for consultation, retrieval and review of archived clinical specimens, and interpretation of other tissue specimens, such as from animal models. (2) Provide the environment in which high-quality clinical and translational research will be centered, thereby translating knowledge from basic science to clinical research, contributing to the development of young clinical investigators and creating collaborations among center members and other members of the scientific community interested in research relevant to liver. As a result of these efforts, half of the members who now use this core are laboratory- based investigators, and all center members who currently use this core collaborate with other center members.