Resource Core

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville TN

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The Resource Core (RC) is comprised of three sub-cores: 1) Metabolomics sub-core, 2) Bioanalytical sub- core, and 3) Data Science sub-core. The RC will provide a unified analytical platform that is integrated to meet all the technical needs for data acquisition, data management and analysis and data storage, across all three projects of the Southeast Translational Alcohol and HIV Research (STAHR) Center. The Metabolomics sub- core will employ sensitive and quantitative LC-MS/GC-MS-based targeted metabolomics approach to delineate the status of Tryptophan metabolites in archived biospecimens from two study cohorts (i.e., the VACS biomarker cohort and the META HIV RCT cohort for Projects 1 and 2). RC’s existing collaboration and shared capabilities with NIAAA funded Integrated Metagenomics and Metabolomics Core (IMMC; P01 AA029542) at the University of Louisville, provide significant strength and active support for the entire workflow for targeted metabolite profiling. The Bioanalytical sub-core with its centralized state-of-the-art equipment will provide standardized, validated, and established methodological and technical support for evaluating gut-derived hormone GLP-1 (Project 1) and plasma- and cell-based markers of gut barrier dysfunction, systemic and vascular inflammation, and immune activation (Project 2 and 3), and immunophenotyping of CD4+ T cell subsets (Project 2). The RC has acquired relevant preliminary data that supports the experimental rationale and study design for both Projects 1 and 2. The Data Science sub-core will provide a central source of expertise related to research design, data management and bioinformatics and statistical analyses. The sub- core will utilize the latest analytical software and databases along with automated computational pipelines developed in-house. The data science team has worked with Drs. Freiberg and Barve for a decade and conducted multiple studies involving VACS and RCTs among PWH with heavy alcohol use. The data science sub-core will also provide well-organized biospecimen and data repository infrastructure by implementing standardized procedures for collection, processing, and storage of bio-specimens, managing inventory, and tracking chain of custody. The RC is committed to providing experimental and data analytical support in a timely fashion coupled with standardized data generation methods across studies to enable integration among Projects and uncover robust discoveries. To accomplish these goals the RC has the following Specific Aims: 1. Perform targeted metabolomics analyses to comprehensively profile metabolites of Tryptophan metabolism using archived fecal/plasma samples. 2. Provide analytical and technical support to examine a wide spectrum of cell- and plasma-based inflammatory and immune activation responses. 3. Manage biospecimen and data repository and provide biostatistics and bioinformatics support for data analyses.