This proposal is submitted to create an Analytical Core, which will serve the Genomic and Proteomics Network for Premature Birth Research. The Analytical Core will have five components that will meet the needs for 1) sample processing, storage and distribution/retrieval;2) high-throughput genotyping and interpretation of genetic studies;3) microarray analysis and data mining;4) proteomics, lipidomics and assessment of oxidative stress;and 5) Bioinformatics and statistics. Each component of this Core will be supervised by an established investigator with expertise in the specific methodology and data interpretation. The overall coordination of Analytical Core1 functions will be the responsibility of the Principal Investigator who will also serve as the Director of the sample processing, storage, distribution/retrieval component and administrative unit (Jerome F. Strauss, III, M.D., Ph.D.), working in concert with the component facility directors (Genotyping and genetic analysis: Richard S. Spielman, Ph.D.;Microarray: Don Baldwin Ph.D.; Proteomics/lipidomics and oxidative stress: Ian Blair, Ph.D.: Bioinformatics and statistics: David Fenstermacher, Ph.D.) who will serve as the Analytical Core Steering Committee. The Principal Investigator will serve as the Steering Committee Chair and the interface with the other investigators and N.I.C.H.D. staff participating in this program. The proposed Core builds on established strengths of the University of Pennsylvania in the study of the genetics of preterm birth, the genetics of complex traits, proteomics, the study of oxidative stress biomarkers, and microarray analysis. The existing facilities are prepared to accommodate high-throughput assays. In addition, the Core key personnel can provide expert advice in study design and data analysis. A Concept Protocol built around the use of admixture mapping and the transmission disequilibrium test to identify the impact of ancestry on preterm birth and neonatal outcomes after preterm delivery as well as association and linkage studies to identify specific risk promoting and protective genes, and parent of origin effects.
