CIIID-Solid Organ Transplant Infectious Disease Program Form Partnership to Provide CIIID Researchers with Access to Human Specimens

The CIIID announced today the establishment of a formal partnership with the University of Washington Solid Organ Transplant Infectious Disease Program to provide access to human specimens (tissue, cells, blood) for use in innate immune studies.  Much of the groundbreaking work in innate immunity is accomplished by studying immune processes in the well-controlled mouse models of relevant human disease; however, observations from the mouse model must be validated in human cells and tissues to verify their clinical relevance to people. Access to human specimens, especially from patients with well-characterized clinical data, for innate immunity research can be difficult and is often a rare occurrence for many research teams.  Recognizing the need for access to clinically-characterized high-quality human biological specimens, Dr. Ajit Limaye, Professor, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Director of the Solid Organ Transplant Infectious Disease Program has developed a transplant biorepository and established a partnership with CIIID.  As a clinician, Dr. Limaye has the ability to connect patients who are interested in advancing innate immune research with CIIID researchers.  Specimens that are generously donated by patients are extremely valuable to researchers conducting innate immune research.  Patients undergoing transplant surgery provide informed consent if they wish to donate specimens and the donated specimens are de-identified so that researchers cannot link the donated tissue back to a specific patient, thus protecting the patient’s privacy.  “We are very pleased to provide such a valuable resource and to develop a partnership with the CIIID,” said Dr. Limaye.  Specimens will be used to evaluate gene expression patterns, protein and cellular localization, as well as to test new therapies targeting innate immune regulation and disease.  “Access to a broad array of well-characterized human samples will advance the ability of CIIID researchers to best understand how innate immunity functions, and will be a unique resource that sets CIIID apart from other research institutions that are conducting innate immune research,” said Dr. Michael Gale, Jr., Director of the CIIID.  “Access to these specimens will help our programs move more quickly from bench to bedside in our quest to find better therapeutics.”