The Research Project serves as the principal research directive of the AACORT. The overall goal of the AACORT is the comprehensive study of the pathology of Alopecia Areata, which the Research Project formalizes into four key goals: 1) the study of the microbiome, 2) proteomic research into AA autoantigens, 3) mouse model studies of AA pathology and drug discovery, 4) and studies of human AA patients for molecular pathology and drug response. These four goals will result in the full characterization of the microbiome, genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic loads that contribute to AA pathology. This, in turn, will provide the foundation for the development of biomarkers to track AA progression and response to treatment (both genomic and molecular), and the identification of drug targets and drug candidates. To drive the pursuit of these objectives, the Research Project will serve as a key mediator between the TRAC Core, which will be responsible for designing and acquiring human patient biosamples for analysis, and the DATA Core, which will oversee the annotation, storage, and analysis of all data generated by the TRAC. It will be one of the Research Project?s roles to identify targetable biological objectives to these two cores, which will then acquire the data and analyze it for the key molecular drivers that the Research Project can then validate as a complement to their ongoing research. Experiments pursued by the Research Project, in human or mouse models, will be continuously cross-checked with the bioinformatic analyses of human cohorts to develop an unprecedented systemic model of AA pathology. In this manner, all ongoing research in the AACORT will be mediated by the central biological questions posed by the Research Project, thereby providing uniform objectives for which the AACORT can leverage its multiple analytic pipelines.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Specialized Center (P50)
Project #
5P50AR070588-05
Application #
10091984
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAR1)
Project Start
2016-09-16
Project End
2022-01-31
Budget Start
2021-02-01
Budget End
2022-01-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2021
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Type
DUNS #
621889815
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
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Lim, Chean Ping; Severin, Rachel K; Petukhova, Lynn (2018) Big Data Reveal Insights into Alopecia Areata Comorbidities. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc 19:S57-S61
Wang, Etienne C E; Christiano, Angela M (2017) The Changing Landscape of Alopecia Areata: The Translational Landscape. Adv Ther 34:1586-1593
Pratt, C Herbert; King Jr, Lloyd E; Messenger, Andrew G et al. (2017) Alopecia areata. Nat Rev Dis Primers 3:17011
Ivanov, Ivaylo I (2017) Microbe Hunting Hits Home. Cell Host Microbe 21:282-285