Core C

Investigator: James Crawford

The Immunology/Pathology Core will plan an integral role in gauging the effectiveness of various therapies proposed to prevent hyperglycemia, retinopathy, and renal disfunction. The core will be used by the investigators to determine the strength of the immune response caused by adeno-associated virus itself, as well as the expression of the transgene products that we expected to therapeutically modify the immune response. Such information is vital to the testing of specific hypotheses as well in defining the mechanisms underlying disease and therapy.

The goals of this Core will be as follows:

• To coordinate the budgetary and financial aspects of the Program. The proposed Program budget approaches $2 Million per year (on average) in direct and in-direct cost disbursements to investigators of six Projects and four Cores, hence careful oversight represents an absolute administrative requirement.
• To facilitate communication among investigators within the Program. This will take form through performance of many functions ranging from regularly scheduled meetings between Program investigators to Core training programs.
• To establish an external advisory committee to provide ongoing feedback with regard to the progress and success of the Program. If this Program is funded, an external advisory committee will be formed consisting of external experts in viral vectors, immunology, and transplantation. This committee will meet at the University of Florida on a yearly basis and will provide written summaries of their evaluation of the Center and recommendations for improvement.
• To facilitate communication of Program results. In addition to the aforementioned functions, the administrative staff of the Program will also be responsible for communication with the JDFI staff, for facilitating travel arrangements for investigators to travel to national meetings, and for assistance with publications and presentation of Program results.
• Finally, we would hope that this Program, through its Administrative Core, might serve as a model for the JDFI to test new and more effective ways for Program evaluation and information exchange (both lay and scientific).