The goal of this U19 Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB) Interdisciplinary Research Unit (CARBIRU) application is to gain a deeper understanding of bacteria and host factors that play a role in antibacterial resistance and infection. To meet this goal, the establishment of the Organoid Cultivation Core (OCC) will allow the provision of critical biologically relevant human organotypic cultures that are essential for the success of the project. The OCC will be organized around two goals: 1) development of human derived organoids from the vagina, the bladder and the nasal airway for use by the individual projects and (2) production of organoids for each project to assist in meeting their individual stated research goals. These goals will offer the ability to test key hypotheses about the role of the host epithelium and develop key outcomes that can be translated into understanding bacterial infections and antibacterial resistance. The core will reduce labor, supply and equipment costs, and time required to complete projects by centralizing the isolation, growth, and maintenance of the organoid lines. Bulk acquisition of materials required to culture organoids, standardization of conditioned media containing growth factors, and centralization of the maintenance of the lines result in significant time and cost savings to the individual Project investigators and ensures standardization and reproducibility. Additionally, the OCC core will enhance communication and comparability of results obtained between projects. The OCC core will be an essential component of the success of each of the projects in this application as well as a unifying element in connecting them together.
