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
Gornati, Laura; Zanoni, Ivan; Granucci, Francesca (2018) Dendritic Cells in the Cross Hair for the Generation of Tailored Vaccines. Front Immunol 9:1484
Blumberg, Richard S; Lillicrap, David; IgG Fc Immune Tolerance Group (2018) Tolerogenic properties of the Fc portion of IgG and its relevance to the treatment and management of hemophilia Blood 131:2205-2214
Yao, Lina; Seaton, Sarah Craven; Ndousse-Fetter, Sula et al. (2018) A selective gut bacterial bile salt hydrolase alters host metabolism. Elife 7:
Haghighi, Alireza; Krier, Joel B; Toth-Petroczy, Agnes et al. (2018) An integrated clinical program and crowdsourcing strategy for genomic sequencing and Mendelian disease gene discovery. NPJ Genom Med 3:21
Lee, Christine K; Mitchell, Paul D; Raza, Roshan et al. (2018) Validation of Transient Elastography Cut Points to Assess Advanced Liver Fibrosis in Children and Young Adults: The Boston Children's Hospital Experience. J Pediatr 198:84-89.e2
Santus, William; Mingozzi, Francesca; Vai, Marina et al. (2018) Deep Dermal Injection As a Model of Candida albicans Skin Infection for Histological Analyses. J Vis Exp :
Stein, Richard R; Tanoue, Takeshi; Szabady, Rose L et al. (2018) Computer-guided design of optimal microbial consortia for immune system modulation. Elife 7:
Chen, Peng; Tao, Liang; Wang, Tianyu et al. (2018) Structural basis for recognition of frizzled proteins by Clostridium difficile toxin B. Science 360:664-669
Shaw, Kelly A; Cutler, David J; Okou, David et al. (2018) Genetic variants and pathways implicated in a pediatric inflammatory bowel disease cohort. Genes Immun :
Lyons, Jesse; Ghazi, Phaedra C; Starchenko, Alina et al. (2018) The colonic epithelium plays an active role in promoting colitis by shaping the tissue cytokine profile. PLoS Biol 16:e2002417

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