Translational Technologies and Resources Program

Northwestern University (NU) has a long tradition of developing and supporting core resources to further its research mission. We will transform biomedical research at NU by developing a new Translational Technologies and Resources Program (TTRP) in the NUCATS Institute to promote innovation by providing new cutting-edge technologies to clinical and translational researchers.  

Goals

1. Support the development of new core facilities that offer innovative translational technologies, methods, and resources for clinical and translational research.
2. Further enhance clinical and translational research programs by supporting the development of innovative technologies, methodologies, or resources in existing cores.
3. Work with the Office of Research Catalysis in the Research Discovery Program to enhance awareness of existing resources and assist clinical and translational investigators with the identification and utilization of translational technologies and resources essential to their research programs.
4. Evaluate the need for new translational technologies and methods annually to ensure that needed innovative and cutting-edge technologies and methods are made available to investigators.
5. Continuously evaluate existing core resources to ensure that investigators’ needs are being met.
6. Establish new centralized oversight of the support and activity of cores that serve clinical and translational researchers.

Leadership

The TTRP program will have co-directors who bring complementary skills, knowledge and networking capabilities to the task. 

Thomas V. O’Halloran, PhD, co-director, is the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Cell Biology on the Evanston campus, a member of the Evanston Northwestern Hospital staff, a Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of NU program leader, and director of the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute at NU. His research interests center on the regulatory biology and chemistry of transition metal receptors. This work focuses on the intracellular chemistry of elements essential for cell growth and proliferation, i.e., zinc, copper and iron. One aspect of his research is development of novel nanoscale and polymer-based therapeutic agents for treating multiple myeloma and other cancers. He is principal investigator (PI) on two National Institutes of Health (NIH) RO1 grants and project PI on the National Cancer Institute-funded U54 Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. O'Halloran is the previous recipient of a MERIT Award from NIH. His scientific recognitions include a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award; National Searle Scholars Award; an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship; the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award; and the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Schering-Plough Scientific Achievement Award. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow.

William A. Muller, MD, PhD, is the Magerstadt Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Pathology at the Feinberg School of Medicine.  He is a member of the Lurie Cancer Center and the Executive Committee for the Transplant Surgery Scientist Training Program T32 grant, and internal advisor to the NU Prostate SPORE.  Prior arriving at NU, he was Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center and Professor in the Graduate Program in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis, where he was P.I. of the T32 Training Grant.  At Weill Cornell, Dr. Muller established the successful Inflammation Research-in-Progress Seminar Series, which brought together investigators from ten diverse departments at three institutions (Cornell, Rockefeller University, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) for interactive discussions of basic and translational research.  He is P.I. on two NIH R01 grants, one of which is currently a MERIT Award, and P.I. of a project in the Weill Cornell Program Project Grant on "The Atherosclerotic Microenvironment."  Previous scientific honors include a Pew Scholarship in the Biomedical Sciences and an American Heart Association Established Investigator Award.  He serves as an Editor of The Journal of Experimental Medicine and as a charter member of the NIH Atherosclerosis and Inflammation in the Cardiovascular System (AICS) Study Section.

Program Description

NU has a well established tradition of developing and supporting core facilities. These cores receive resources provided by the University, individual schools, and centers (e.g., Cancer Center and Center for Genetic Medicine), and by chargeback to investigators for services rendered.  To promote a culture of innovation and translation, the NUCATS Institute will provide new innovative and  cutting-edge technologies and resources to investigators through new and existing core resources. By doing so, the Institute will accelerate the pace of clinical and translational research at NU. So as not to duplicate existing operations, the NUCATS Institute will integrate its efforts with the established infrastructure for core support that extends beyond schools and specific campuses.  A diverse group of cores with differing needs and structures will be integral to the NUCATS Institute.