Co-Directors: Ali Ashare, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Deborah Hogan, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology.
Description: The mission of the CF RDP Airway Translational Research Core is to support the research programs of basic science investigators and physician-scientists by facilitating access to clinical specimens from patients with cystic fibrosis, thereby supporting translational research at Dartmouth and our regional partner institutions. The CF RDP TRC provides assistance with all aspects of research with human subjects including study design and approval, implementation, and analysis. In addition, by acting as a central clearinghouse, the CF RDP TRC works to coordinate our portfolio of clinically based studies to minimize the burden on our patient population and maximize scientific impact. Samples collected include bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, purified immune cells, sputum, serum, bacterial and fungal clinical isolates, and associated patient data. The patient samples include those from longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, and the CF TRC has developed a collection of banked samples for rapid hypothesis testing to facilitate the launching of new studies and obtaining preliminary data.
The CF RDP TRC provides:
- Support for design of research studies involving samples from human subjects with CF, including Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) approval, study design, and statistical support
- Centralized and comprehensive collection of specimens from CF patients and healthy control subjects by providing research coordinator support to obtain informed consent, interface with patients and families, assist in obtaining and transporting clinical specimens, and compiling approved patient data for research projects
- Efficient processing and analysis of clinical specimens, methods optimization for sample preparation, and interpretation and presentation of the resulting data
- Mechanisms to develop new translational research assays.