# Wake Forest University Vesicant Exposure Resource and Coordination Core

> **NIH NIH U2C** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $1,070,788

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Early-stage development of medical countermeasures (MCMs) for hazardous chemicals can be complicated by
several factors, including limited expertise in working with highly toxic and restricted chemicals and a diverse
array of experimental models of varying relevance. We propose to establish the Wake Forest University Vesicant
Exposure Resource and Coordination Core (Vesicant ExRC) to provide a comprehensive suite of experimental
models, innovative analytical methods and interactive study design protocols to support CCRP investigators. Dr.
McNutt will serve as the overall Director of the Vesicant ExRC. He will be joined by a multidisciplinary scientific
team with extensive expertise in vesicant studies and an administrative team with proven experience in
managing large, multi-institutional programs under BARDA, NIH and DoD funding. The overall goal of the
Vesicant ExRC is to take advantage of our established expertise studying vesicant injury in vivo and in vitro to
develop a state-of-the-art facility that accelerates and enhances fundamental and translational studies. Our
approach is enabled by the established repertoire of well-characterized experimental models used at Wake
Forest to study fundamental effects of vesicants on ocular, dermal and pulmonary tissues. The experimental
methods will focus on three primary models; in vivo studies using mouse and rabbit preclinical models of corneal
injury; ex vivo exposures using commercially procured eyes for acute and mechanistic studies; and in vitro
studies using phenotypically mature, full-thickness upper airway and skin microphysiological models. The
Vesicant ExRC will be organized and executed through five specific aims: (1) Establish the Vesicant ExRC as a
collaborative vesicant research resource; (2) Enhance collaborative studies through advanced analytical
methods; (3) Ensure effective communication and coordination between Vesicant ExRC and stakeholders; (4)
Develop resources to education stakeholders and disseminate standardized methods and findings; and (5)
transition the Vesicant ExRC to become a sustainable resource. These aims will be achieved through the
development and coordination of an Administrative Core, Coordination Core and Research Support Core to
manage ExRC operations; establishment of a Steering Committee and External Advisory Committee to provide
strategic guidance; implementation of facility website for scheduling, marketing and communications; and
education of stakeholders and the broader CCRP Network in experimental approaches. The ability of the
Vesicant ExRC to rapidly develop, standardize and disseminate proven methods for the study of highly toxic
vesicants is anticipated to directly enhance the CCRP mission by accelerating fundamental studies into toxic
mechanisms and improving early-stage MCM development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10937787
- **Project number:** 1U2CEY036984-01
- **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Patrick Michael McNutt
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,070,788
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10937787

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10937787, Wake Forest University Vesicant Exposure Resource and Coordination Core (1U2CEY036984-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10937787. Licensed CC0.

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