Functional Microbiomics, Inflammation and Pathogenicity

NIH RePORTER · NIH · P20 · $250,000 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Abstract The primary objective of the Functional Microbiomics, Inflammation, and Pathogenicity (FMIP) CoBRE at the University of Louisville (UofL) is to establish a comprehensive and interdisciplinary research center focused on exploring the intricate relationship between the microbiome, inflammation, and pathogenicity. Over the past six years, we have successfully brought together a group of promising junior investigators, each possessing unique expertise, and paired them with highly qualified and dedicated mentors. Through a collaborative effort, a cohesive set of complementary projects has been developed, forging innovative connections between inflammatory processes and bacterial pathogenicity. This has led to successful graduation of six junior faculty with NIH R01 awards and three of these investigators are still at UofL and are transitioning into mentoring roles while establishing their own strong scientific programs. These achievements were supported and facilitated by the Functional Microbiomics Core, which provides essential resources such as germ-free animal facilities, anaerobic culture capabilities, microbiome sequencing, bioinformatics support, and the assay of inflammatory markers. For Phase I and II of the FMIP CoBRE we have made significant commitment to expand our microbiomics core capabilities by developing anerobic culture, germ free, gnotobiotic and advanced imaging facilities. Many of our RPLs and their mentors are now experiencing a growing need for the capability to swiftly and easily identify and quantify small molecules, such as host and microbial metabolites from various sources. Here, we propose to further expand microbiome area into metabolomics by purchasing the TSQ Quantis Triple-Stage Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer from Thermo Scientific. This mass spectrometer provides reliability and sensitivity and will be a significant addition to our CoBRE core facility. This supplement application is requesting partial funding from to acquire and establish the CoBRE-Metabolomics facility at the UofL that focuses on microbial and host metabolites. This core will support the research of large number of faculty working in the areas of microbiota, inflammation, and pathogenesis.

Key facts

NIH application ID
11035846
Project number
3P20GM125504-07S1
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
Principal Investigator
Richard J Lamont
Activity code
P20
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$250,000
Award type
3
Project period
2018-03-01 → 2028-02-29