# Computational Immunobiology Core

> **NIH NIH U19** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $790,915

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – Computational Immunobiology Core
The Computational Immunobiology Core (CIC) will provide comprehensive technical assay support services
and analytic support for the hypothesis-driven research studies proposed in the two Projects comprising this
U19 proposal. The Core derives its greatest overall strength from its intersection of technical and transplant-
specific expertise, state-of-the art methods for multidimensional biological interrogation, and explicit proficiency
in advanced computational analytics. Led by Dr. Kirk, the Core continues to utilize the longstanding assets of
prior iterations of this program to achieve comprehensive characterization of transplant procedures, with
particular expertise in polychromic flow cytometry-based platforms for immune profiling. Assay testing is
performed in a Good Clinical Laboratory compliant environment according to highly standardized and validated
Standard Operating Procedures, by a team that has been supporting NHP transplant work for over 25 years.
To this established team, a new collaboration has been forged with NC State University, an international leader
in veterinary medicine, to incorporate a novel platform for comprehensive, rhesus macaque-specific, single cell
RNA sequence analysis. This is the first lab to comprehensively provide RNA sequence analysis for the entire
TCR and BCR repertoire in the rhesus macaque, and as such, adds unprecedented granularity to the analysis
of the in vivo studies proposed in the two Projects. Given the exponential growth in data acquired from these
capabilities, new expertise in high-density data analytics has been added through the recruitment of Drs. Peng
and Chan. These individuals have extensive expertise in the integration of sequence- and flow-based datasets
with traditional metrics of clinical outcome, specifically in nonhuman primate studies. The key services the CIC
will provide to Projects 1 and 2 include: 1) state-of-the-art specimen capture, processing, and biobanking; 2)
analytical polychromatic flow cytometry phenotyping and intracellular cytokine staining; 3) single cell RNA
sequencing; 4) quantitative virologic testing; 5) comprehensive histology and immunohistochemistry support;
and 6) computational analysis for the data emerging from the assays. The present core facilities house all the
advanced equipment required for turn-key assessment of the proposed primate studies, including exceptional
flow and sequencing platforms, and a specimen processing and biobanking service that serves the entire Duke
community under Dr. Kirk’s supervision. The established viral testing facility monitors three of the most
clinically relevant viruses in transplantation: Rhesus Cytomegalovirus (rhCMV), Rhesus Lymphocryptovirus
(rhLCV) (rhesus homology of EBV), and Simian Virus 40 (SV40). The CIC also provides routine histology and
immunohistochemistry assays through our immunohistochemistry service laboratory, allowing each project to
examine the effects ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10821466
- **Project number:** 5U19AI131471-08
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Allan D. Kirk
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $790,915
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10821466

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10821466, Computational Immunobiology Core (5U19AI131471-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10821466. Licensed CC0.

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