Pilot Project Core

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ABSTRACT The overall goal of the Northeast Ohio Alcohol Center (NOAC) is to identify specific molecular targets responsible for ethanol-induced tissue damage, as well as to understand the complex adaptive and maladaptive responses of cells and systems to that damage. This information will enable us to 1) target therapeutic interventions to slow and/or reverse the progression of alcohol-induced tissue injury and 2) develop specific assays that can assess the efficacy of novel therapeutic strategies in relevant clinical populations. The NOAC brings together an outstanding team of interdisciplinary investigators including geneticists, cell biologists, oxidation biochemists, biomarker experts, synthetic chemists and clinical translational investigators. A critical element to leveraging the expertise of our team of investigators is to provide support for pilot projects. Pilot projects bring innovative and promising new approaches to the alcohol field and facilitate collaborations between team members and outside investigators to build onto their existing individual research programs. Pilot projects are supported by our Animal and Cell Models Core and Clinical Core, facilitating rapid progress for investigators new to the area of alcohol research. Importantly, the supportive intellectual environment with broad expertise in biomedical and clinical investigations will allow for the continued development of novel and innovative pilot projects. Therefore, support for pilot projects will likely have a large impact on the progress of research on mechanisms and treatments for ethanol-induced tissue injury. The Specific Aims of the Pilot Projects Core are to 1) Advertise the availability of Pilot Projects and invite pilot projects from faculty at Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, MetroHealth Medical Center, Northeast Ohio College of Medicine and National Children’s Hospital, organize their review and ranking, 2) Provide support for junior investigators in implementing their proposals and 3) Monitor progress of Pilot Projects on a yearly basis. Implementation of the Pilot Projects Core will allow for funding of novel and innovative hypotheses with a rapid turnaround from conceptualization to actualization, facilitate collaborations between basic and clinical investigators and provide seed money to test exciting new approaches to understanding pathophysiology of ethanol-induced tissue injury, as well as development of biomarkers for disease progression and susceptibility. Importantly, the Pilot Projects Core will also extend the numbers of participating investigators in the NOAC and continue to build a community able and willing to conduct cutting edge basic and clinical alcohol-related research.