Oklahoma ACE: Molecular Destruction of Autoimmune Disease to Aid Clinical Trail Success

The Oklahoma Autoimmunity Center of Excellence aims to understand autoimmune disease biology through interdisciplinary, collaborative research integrating clinical and basic questions. Prior Oklahoma Autoimmunity Center of Excellence (ACE) work as both a Basic and Clinical ACE has significantly advanced our understanding of autoimmune disease genetics, development, flare, and heterogeneity. The Oklahoma ACE has also contributed to eight ACE trials, serving as a Protocol Chair and/or a lead recruitment site for five while also building unique patient cohorts and data/sample collections from diverse urban, rural, and minority communities. Through this currently funding of the UM1 Clinical ACE submission, the Oklahoma ACE strives to deconstruct the molecular heterogeneity of autoimmune diseases to implement more effective clinical trial designs, optimize biologically relevant treatment selection, and improve disease understanding. The Oklahoma ACE consists of a primary clinical project, alternate clinical project, collaborative project and Administrative Core. In addition, the Oklahoma ACE was selected to serve as the ACE Biorepository Core and this supplement focuses on adding equipment to the core to improve efficiency, improve sample, and better manage biospecimens collected from the ACE clinical trial network. New with this renewal, we proposed our Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation College of American Pathologists (CAP)-certified Biorepository to serve as the ACE Biorepository Core, leveraging decades of experience as an autoimmune disease biorepository, dedicated personnel, standard policies/procedures, and high biobanking standards. Due to expanding needs of the network and to improve energy efficiency and decrease liquid nitrogen usage, this application requests eighty percent of a new, large, floor model, vapor- phase liquid nitrogen storage tank for storage of current and future ACE samples. The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is also committing funds to this purchase, along with the ongoing operational expenses, preventive maintenance, service agreements, and room upgrades to monitor employee safety and oxygen content of the liquid nitrogen facility storage room which is adjacent to the OMRF tornado shelter. In addition, this application is requesting modest supplemental funding to purchase small equipment and associated racks and tubes needed for the implementation of use for current and new ACE biospecimens in the newly acquired fully contained, robotic -80 Bio-Arc storage system which is currently being constructed in an adjacent lower- level location to the liquid nitrogen storage facility. Project Number: 3UM1AI144292-07S1 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) | Principal Investigator: JUDITH JAMES | Institution: OKLAHOMA MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | Award Amount: $400,579 | Activity Code: UM1 View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3UM1AI14429207S1