The overall goal of the Clinical Core is to provide the personnel, facilities, and organizational structure necessary to generate the research database and procure patients specimens for the basic and clinical studies proposed. It will be comprised of an already highly collaborative group of investigators that includes two pulmonologists, two research coordinators and consultants from thoracic radiology and lung pathology. In order to fulfill its overall goal, the Clinical Core will: C.1. Manage the identification, informed consent process, enrollment, and data collection of patients with suspected IPF undergoing surgical lung biopsy, of patients with IPF undergoing lung transplantation, and of control subjects undergoing thoracic sympathectomy via VATS or lung resection for bronchogenic carcinoma. Specific activities related to this function will include: a. Identify eligible patients. b. Obtain informed consent from patients. c. Enter patient's clinical, physiologic, radiologic and pathologic data into a comprehensive database. d. Coordinate procurement and processing of pleural mesothelial cells (PMCs) and lung fibroblasts (Fbs) to be delivered to the other cores and laboratories for the proposed studies. e. Coordinate interpretation of biopsy specimens by a multidisciplinary discussion to include clinicians, radiologist, and pathologist. C.2. Generate Research Forms and enter demographic and clinical data into the research module of P-TREC (UAB Pulmonary Translational Research and Clinical database). a. Maintain and update P-TREC and sample registry. b. Track patient sample delivery to individual laboratory. c. Provide patient demographic data to Project Leaders and Program Director.
The overall goal of the Clinical Core is to provide centralized and standardized procedures for the recruitment of subjects, procurement of specimens, diagnosis of ILD, and to populate a database with demographic and clinical information to support the projects of this application. The results from these studies may lead to the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a devastating disease with no effective pharmacological therapy.
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