# Preclinical Models Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2021 · $264,193

## Abstract

Summary
 The Preclinical Models Core in the San Diego Digestive Diseases Research Center will provide access
to animal models of gastrointestinal and liver disease for preclinical studies and will assist in characterizing
disease activity prospectively and retrospectively in a comprehensive and uniform manner. The Core
emanated out of core services provided by a past NIDDK-funded (R24) Mini-Center at the University of
California, San Diego (UCSD). The approach to create the Preclinical Models Core is based on information
from surveys of Center member needs, experience with the prior Mini-Center at UCSD, the broad expertise of
Center members in digestive diseases research, and the insights of several of the Center members who have
served as advisors or in leadership roles for other Silvio O. Conte Centers. The Core will provide resources in
veterinary sciences and a technical infrastructure that enables animals to be studied comprehensively. The
services will include consultation on the selection and interpretation of animal models of digestive diseases,
ante-mortem imaging and post-mortem examination, including the development and interpretation of scoring
systems by veterinarians trained in comparative pathology. Thus, the Core will truly be “preclinical” in that it will
be modeling and evaluating disease with instrumentation also used in patients with the added advantage of the
controlled manipulations that are possible in these models. The Core will be led by two experienced leaders
with strong track records in applying animal models to basic and preclinical questions: Dr. Peter Ernst, a PhD
veterinarian with extensive experience in managing Core facilities, will be the Core Director and focus on
murine models of gastrointestinal disease and in vivo imaging. As the Core Co-Director, Dr. Tatiana Kisseleva
will provide her extensive experience with animal models of liver disease. Furthermore, the Core will interact
with and directly complement the Human Translational and Microbiomics and Functional Genomics Cores by
being able to relate the imaging results, biomarkers and clinical data to specific outcomes in animal models
and human disease. Thus, the Preclinical Models Core will benefit the investigators in the Center by providing
reliable, cost-effective services that are coordinated with the investigators’ research and other Cores to
facilitate and advance research related to the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10139028
- **Project number:** 5P30DK120515-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Peter B. Ernst
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $264,193
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10139028

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10139028, Preclinical Models Core (5P30DK120515-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10139028. Licensed CC0.

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