The Harvard Digestive Diseases Center (HDDC) is a consortium of 63 independent investigators and 39 Associate Members with over $32 M annual research funding directly related to digestive diseases (34%NIDDK). The HDDC is focused on the cell biology and function of epithelial cells of the alimentary tract and the complex interactions of epithelia with the microbial flora and subepithelial cells of the lamina propria that result in mucosal immunity, allergy, innate host defense, digestion and absorption, the development of gastrointestinal neoplasia, and the many other functions of the Gl tract. Center Directors Drs. Wayne Lencer (PI) and Richard Blumberg (Co-PI) are scientific colleagues, Division Chiefs of Pediatric and Adult Gl at two major Harvard teaching hospitals, and leaders of NIH-funded training programs in Gastroenterology. The enrichment program includes an annual scientific symposium, a biannual regional conference """"""""Frontiers in Mucosal Immunology"""""""", and two seminar series. The HDDC pilot-feasibility grant program is highly subscribed and competitive;the majority of previous awardees are now independently funded and still in digestive diseases-related research. A biostatistics resource supports translational/clinical research of HDDC members. The Imaging Core B provides advanced high-resolution light microscopy of fixed and live cells and tissues, and electron microscopy including EM tomography. The Epithelial Cell Biology Core C provides epithelial cell culture and transfection, microfluorimetry, electrophysiology, multi-color FACS, and multiplexed direct quantification of individual mRNAs. The Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Core D provides protein and lipid purification and analysis and proteomic technologies. A new Gnotobiotics and Microbiology Core E provides access to germfree mouse isolators, stocks of germfree mice, microbiological assays, and a library of commensal and pathogen strains for use in the study of the gastrointestinal commensal flora and BL1 and BL2 pathogens. Our overarching mission is to foster and expand basic and translational science in digestive diseases by: 'connecting people, 'creating opportunity, and 'extending resources.

Public Health Relevance

The Center facilitates multidisciplinary research in gastrointestinal diseases by providing technical resources, core services, scientific expertise, and an important meeting point to foster close scientific and intellectual relationships among independent investigators in Harvard-affiliated hospitals, the Harvard Medical School and adjacent research institutions in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. We also aim to recruit new and established investigators to the field.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Center Core Grants (P30)
Project #
5P30DK034854-28
Application #
8434950
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZDK1-GRB-8 (M1))
Program Officer
Podskalny, Judith M,
Project Start
1997-09-01
Project End
2015-11-30
Budget Start
2012-12-01
Budget End
2013-11-30
Support Year
28
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$1,104,626
Indirect Cost
$292,496
Name
Children's Hospital Boston
Department
Type
DUNS #
076593722
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Nudel, K; Zhao, X; Basu, S et al. (2018) Genomics of Corynebacterium striatum, an emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen of immunocompromised patients. Clin Microbiol Infect 24:1016.e7-1016.e13
Biswas, Amlan; Shouval, Dror S; Griffith, Alexandra et al. (2018) WASP-mediated regulation of anti-inflammatory macrophages is IL-10 dependent and is critical for intestinal homeostasis. Nat Commun 9:1779
Han, Lichy; Maciejewski, Mateusz; Brockel, Christoph et al. (2018) A probabilistic pathway score (PROPS) for classification with applications to inflammatory bowel disease. Bioinformatics 34:985-993
Fishman, Laurie N; Kearney, Jennifer; DeGroote, Maya et al. (2018) Creation of Experience-based Celiac Benchmarks: The First Step in Pretransition Self-management Assessment. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 67:e6-e10
Kamareddine, Layla; Robins, William P; Berkey, Cristin D et al. (2018) The Drosophila Immune Deficiency Pathway Modulates Enteroendocrine Function and Host Metabolism. Cell Metab 28:449-462.e5
Iyer, Shankar S; Gensollen, Thomas; Gandhi, Amit et al. (2018) Dietary and Microbial Oxazoles Induce Intestinal Inflammation by Modulating Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Responses. Cell 173:1123-1134.e11
McSweeney, Maireade E; Kerr, Jessica; Amirault, Janine et al. (2018) Preoperative Evaluation Is Not Predictive of Transpyloric Feeding Conversion in Gastrostomy-dependent Pediatric Patients. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 66:887-892
Thiagarajah, Jay R; Kamin, Daniel S; Acra, Sari et al. (2018) Advances in Evaluation of Chronic Diarrhea in Infants. Gastroenterology 154:2045-2059.e6
Masuyer, Geoffrey; Zhang, Sicai; Barkho, Sulyman et al. (2018) Structural characterisation of the catalytic domain of botulinum neurotoxin X - high activity and unique substrate specificity. Sci Rep 8:4518
Xenakis, Jason J; Howard, Emily D; Smith, Kalmia M et al. (2018) Resident intestinal eosinophils constitutively express antigen presentation markers and include two phenotypically distinct subsets of eosinophils. Immunology 154:298-308

Showing the most recent 10 out of 869 publications