Physicians at Scott & White Healthcare and scientists at the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine recently formed the Digestive Disease Research Center ( DDRC ). Its primary goal is to improve treatments for patients with digestive disorders and cancers .
Research efforts that begin in the lab will eventually be brought to clinical trials at Scott & White , making the DDRC a model of translational research .
The establishment of the DDRC in late 2008 fulfilled a three-year dream for world-renowned researcher and DDRC Director Gianfranco Alpini , PhD , professor of internal medicine at the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine ; and the Hightower Centennial Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology .
“ We are creating a team of clinicians and basic scientists ,” he says . “ As the DDRC fulfills its mission , I see it not only as a leading research center finding cures for digestive disorders but as the leading research center . I want the DDRC to be number one .”
Bile duct research The center ’ s initial research program focuses on Dr . Alpini ’ s area of expertise , diseases that affect the bile ducts in the liver . The team ’ s research centers specifically on cholangiocytes , cells that line the bile ducts . Dr . Alpini ’ s team of basic science researchers includes Shannon Glaser , PhD ; Sharon DeMorrow , PhD ; and Fanyin Meng , MD , PhD . “ They are incredibly brilliant scientists ,” Dr . Alpini says .
Richard A . Erickson , MD , director of the Division of Gastroenterology and codirector of the DDRC along with Dawn Sears , MD , director of the gastroenterology fellowship program , will help facilitate bringing basic science to clinical applications and trials . This will happen once the research advances to that point , probably in about six years . Gastroenterology fellows also will be doing basic science research with Dr . Alpini ' s team .
While the research is now at the level of molecular biology , Dr . Glaser says that Dr . Alpini inspires the team with his goal to turn the lab work into a cure . “ He has an enormous desire to translate [ our research ] into a
treatment paradigm ,” says Dr . Glaser , who has worked with Dr . Alpini for 15 years .
Dr . DeMorrow , a native of Australia , says the researchers excel at motivating their teammates . “ We support each other ,” she says . “ It ’ s a very supportive and collaborative environment .” Like Dr . Glaser , Dr . DeMorrow is an assistant professor at the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine , where she teaches gastrointestinal physiology .
Program funding and recruitment Since the DDRC was established , its team of basic science researchers has received more than $ 883,000 in federal funding from the Veterans Administration and the National Institutes of Health . Further grant applications
“ As the DDRC fulfills its mission , I see it not only as a leading research center finding cures for digestive disorders but as the leading research center . I want the DDRC to be number one .”
are pending . Other initial backing included the $ 200,000 endowment that Dr . Alpini received as Hightower Centennial Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology . Dr . Alpini is seeking continued support to recruit more scientists . “ It ’ s very important that we try to attract private donors in order to expand the program ,” he says . The desired expansion includes recruiting researchers who specialize in other organs in the digestive tract . Dr . Alpini hopes to start building the faculty within a year , beginning with a scientist who is a researcher in pancreatic or colon cancer . He also wants the DDRC to train clinical and basic science investigators through postdoctoral fellowship programs .
— Gianfranco Alpini , PhD
sw . org | Spring 10 THE CATALYST 11