Alopecia Areata Center for Research Translation (AACORT)

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Overall AACORT Abstract The Alopecia Areata Center of Research Translation (AACORT) at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is focused on the singular goal of developing new treatments for alopecia areata (AA). The mission of the AACORT is to leverage our recent discoveries beginning to unravel the genetic basis of AA and the fact that its pathogenesis is linked to dysregulation of both innate and acquired immunity, and to synergize these findings into translational studies that will lead to novel therapies for this disease, including the repurposing of existing drugs. In the past few years, the AACORT team has made transformative progress in understanding the genetic basis of AA, as well as initiating a series of clinical trials employing mechanism-driven targeted JAK inhibitors aimed at reversing the disease. While this class of drugs is having a profound impact on guiding clinical development efforts in AA, there is much more work to be done, since clearly many patients do not respond to these drugs. The goal of this AACORT is to build upon our established translational pipeline to leverage our basic and preclinical discoveries into the clinical setting. This AACORT is centered around a central Research Project that focuses on the Translational Science of Alopecia Areata, and deals with innovative translational aspects of the disease, including initiating factors such as the microbiome; preclinical studies focused on antigen discovery and testing new therapeutic approaches in vitro and in vivo; and clinical correlative studies designed to rigorously assess the efficacy and safety of new drugs coming available for patients with AA. The Research Project is supported by the Translational and Clinical Resource Core (TRAC), and the Data Analysis and Translational Applications (DATA) Core, which bring together an outstanding cadre of talented, committed and scientifically diverse faculty from across the institution. The AACORT is supported by a highly capable and experienced Administrative Core that provides its vitally important organizational infrastructure. The goal of the AACORT is to surmount barriers to translational application of basic discoveries that have the potential to revolutionize the management of this heretofore intractable and debilitating disorder.