Joint Biology Consortium Resource-based Center

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT - Overall Breaking down barriers to translational research is the key to finding new approaches to inflammatory arthritis and related diseases in adults and children. Four years ago, with P30 support, we built the Joint Biology Consortium (JBC), a shared infrastructure based at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, to accelerate the work of an arthritis-focused Research Community now spanning 18 research centers across the United States and abroad. Based on the success of the JBC, we propose to continue and expand the fundamental design of three Cores designed around the shared needs of JBC members to enhance the efficiency of existing studies, facilitate innovation, and foster junior investigators. 1. The Administrative Core is the organizational heart of the JBC, coordinating operations and cultivating the scientific potential of the JBC research network, coordinated through the JBC Web Portal. The JBC Synergy Meeting and Visiting Professor program promote scientific interchange, the JBC Workforce Development Group promotes a diverse and inclusive research pipeline, and the JBC Enrichment Program incorporates innovations from award-winning mentors to support JBC Young Investigators via grant aims review, mentoring, and 12 yearly JBC Microgrants of $5,000 to facilitate utilization of JBC services for pilot and feasibility studies. 2. The Human Biosamples Core provides “one-stop shopping” for adult and pediatric biospecimens essential to research in arthritis and related diseases. The HBC leverages 19 distinct sources of samples. The new JBC Recruitment Core provides targeted prospective recruitment from over 100,000 consented individuals based on phenotype and, in many cases, genotype to build a unified pipeline for biospecimens across the lifespan. 3. The Cellular Systems Core provides resource- and expertise-intensive tools for arthritis research. Next- generation sequencing tools include single-cell RNAseq, CITE-seq, ATAC-seq, T-scan, PhIP-seq, and spatial transcriptomics, while protein-based services include CyTOF, tissue mass cytometry, and custom Luminex, all analyzed with assistance and education from the new JBC Bioinformatics Core. Spearheaded by committed investigators and mentors Director PI/PD Dr. Peter Nigrovic and Associate Director and Co-PI Dr. Elizabeth Karlson, the JBC spurs innovation within a deliberately inclusive and highly collaborative network of senior and junior investigators, enabling the Joint Biology Consortium to continue to grow as an engine of translational research in adult and pediatric arthritis and related disease.