The overall goal of this proposal is to promote collaboration among sixteen basic science and clinical investigators at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, thereby facilitating research on skin diseases. Organized as a Skin Disease Research Center (SDRC), elements of this proposal will take advantage of existing programs of excellence in biomedical research at Southwestern Medical Center as well as formalizing scientific collaborations that have developed over many years. Objectives of the SDRC are: 1. To provide services, technologies, and training opportunities that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of center investigators, 2. To insure quality control in studies conduced by center investigators, 3. To establish a scientific forum that promotes cooperation, communication, and collaboration in the investigation of skin biology and skin diseases, and 4. To provide program enrichment through conferences, journal clubs, seminars, and visiting scientists. The SDRC will encompass six scientific cores: 1. Tissue Culture, 2, Protein Chemistry, 3. Molecular Biology, 4. Cell Phenotyping and Flow Cytometry, 5. Cytokine, and 6. Photobiology. These cores and organized as shared resources to enhance productivity and to facilitate collaboration among center investigators. From among fourteen proposals, six Pilot and Feasibility Studies have been prepared. Each of these addresses a focused area of skin pathology or skin biology, and, as a whole, they reflect the diverse scientific interests of investigators participating in the center. Each Pilot and Feasibility Study has been organized to take full advantage of the technology available in the core facilities. Ultimately, the SDRC will enhance the quality and scope of research for targeted skin diseases, including lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, contact allergic dermatitis, psoriasis, skin cancer, human papilloma virus infection, and wound healing. The SDRC will also enhance understanding of basic elements of skin biology, including cutaneous immunity, photobiology and carcinogenesis. Strengths of the proposal include the internationally acclaimed and longstanding commitment of Southwestern Medical Center to biomedical investigation, the prominent record of scientific achievement established by faculty and post- doctoral fellows in the Department of Dermatology, a SDRC membership comprised of Investigators with established records of effective collaboration, and an array of novel ideas proposed by these investigators.
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