Saturday, March 12, 2016

CHOP/ Penn IDDRC Renewed for Another 5-Year Cycle




The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) has announced the renewal of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) at CHOP/Penn for the next 5 years. This award marks the sixth successful grant application for support by the IDDRC, which has enjoyed uninterrupted funding since its establishment in 1990.

Created by Congress in 1963, the 15 Centers in the IDDRC Network represent the nation's first and foremost sustained effort to prevent and treat disabilities through biomedical and behavioral research. The 15 Centers contribute to the development and implementation of evidence-based practices by evaluating the effectiveness of biological, biochemical, and behavioral interventions; developing assistive technologies; and advancing prenatal diagnosis and newborn screening.

In 2014, the NICHD transitioned the IDDRC Network to a U54 mechanism (“Cooperative Agreement”) which creates an ongoing partnership between the Centers and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Branch at NICHD. This partnership emphasizes multidisciplinary research into the causes and treatments of the developmental disabilities. A novel feature of the U54 mechanism is the sponsorship at each Center of a research project which addresses a crucial aspect of the IDD. At CHOP/Penn, we are supporting a study to develop a novel brain biomarker using magnetoencephalography to diagnose and evaluate minimally verbal people with an autistic spectrum disorder.

The IDDRC has become a key agency on the CHOP/Penn campus for the promotion of IDD-related research. It does so with a three-pronged strategy:

  • Advocacy - in order to recruit talented investigators and maintain a substantial research infrastructure
  • Education – to support promising young scholars entering the field; and
  • Research Support – to provide eligible CHOP/Penn investigators with core laboratory services which otherwise would be inaccessible.

The CHOP/ Penn IDDRC sponsors 5 research core facilities:


Analytical Neurochemistry Core
Director: Michael Robinson, PhD; Co-Directors: Marni Falk, MD; Harry Ischiropoulous, PhD; Itzhak Nissim, PhD; Marc Yudkoff, MD) Services: proteomics, bioenergetics assays, metabolomics, stable isotopes, biogenic amines.

Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core
Director:
Mary Putt, PhD; Co-Directors: Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD; Douglas Wallace, PhD). Services: statistical analysis, experimental design consultation, bioinformatics analysis for GWAS, CNV, sequencing (both nuclear and mDNA), RNA profiling.


Clinical Translational Core
Director: Robert Schultz, PhD; Co-Director: Nate Blum, MD. Services: assistance with recruitment, phenotyping, database and patient registry creation, websites. 


Neurocircuitry and Neuroimaging Core
Director: Tim Roberts, PhD; Co-Directors: Doug Coulter, PhD; Eric Marsh, MD.
Services: magnetoencephalography, MRI, MRS, multiphoton microscopy, voltage-sensitive dye & Ca2+ indicator imaging; EEG interpretation.

Preclinical Models Core
Director: Ted Abel, PhD; Co-Directors: Deborah French, PhD; Judith Grinspan, PhD Services: animal behavioral testing, EEG implantation, stereotaxic drug delivery, microdissection, neural tissue culture consultation, IPSC consultation, CRISPR-Cas technology

In addition to the above, an Administrative Core is responsible for our educational program, including the IDDRC Monthly Seminar and the administration of the Alavi-Dabiri Postdoctoral Fellowship Award for post-doctoral trainees and the Training Grant in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.


Access to the core laboratory facilities is available to all CHOP/Penn investigators who are recipients of NIH and/or NSF funding that is relevant to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (including training grants). To apply, please contact Ms. Kristen Hearty, Center Administrator (215-590-3728; heartyk@email.chop.edu).  

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