The Clinical and Translational Core (Clinical Core) aims to facilitate patient-oriented research for investigators spanning from clinical translational research to population epidemiology. Resources and expertise will be pooled under the common Clinical Core umbrella to provide a wide range of clinical translational research resources including, but not limited to access to biosamples, technical resources such as sample analysis and biostatistical support and clinical data while increasing the efficiency of operations through expert knowledge for the construction, implementation and interpretation of the studies. The primary advantages of the Clinical Core are that 1) it enhances the quality of the experiments by providing a priori step- wise design process; 2) it alleviates experimental constraints by providing access to a variety of clinical research resources; and 3) it includes an infrastructure for data and sample coordination and storage. The Clinical Core will accomplish these goals by establishing three Subcores: 1) Biorepository Subcore; 2) Human Metabolic Phenotyping Subcore and 3) Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Subcore. The internal and external users will access these resources by: 1) direct requests for biosamples, including tissue; 2) request for clinical and research data from large cohort studies, including BioVU and Research Derivative; 3) requesting statistical support for design and interpretation of new, ongoing or completed studies; and 4) request for analytical resources. For implementation and administration, the Clinical Core proposes to channel all information and specimens into analytical, statistical, and bioinformatics services, thereby enhancing the utility of these resources. The Clinical Core will also assist investigators in the process of communicating research findings to stakeholders and members of target communities that are partners in the research process. In accomplishing the goals, the Clinical Core will take advantage of available institutional resources, such as the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR), Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) and Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC).
Recent advances in molecular biology, diagnostic technologies, and innovations in predictive analytics and use of `big data' offer unprecedented opportunities to gain novel insights into the mechanisms underlying human kidney disease. Leveraging these advances requires a unique set of skills, resources, and infrastructure that foster multidisciplinary collaboration. The Clinical Core will support the execution of collaborative patient-oriented research across the spectrum of investigation ranging from the mechanistic to population-based epidemiology and clinical trials. Resources and expertise will be organized under a common core umbrella to efficiently link an established knowledgeable user base with targeted resource selection.
