IIDP Technology Resource Award (TRA)

The Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP) announces a new funding initiative, the 2023 IIDP Technology Resource Award (TRA), that is intended to advance human islet research by providing support for high-impact studies that will enhance services provided by IIDP to the research community. Studies supported by these awards should focus on exceptional ideas and projects that will enhance the ability of IIDP to provide new resources and services to the IIDP community of scientists. Emphasis of proposals should be on the exploration of novel assays or unique technologies that could contribute to and augment IIDP programmatic objectives to support studies of the human pancreas in states of disease and health. Current areas of emphasis include, but are not limited to: (1) Resources for exploring the human islet niche: Development and validation of standardized protocols and assays to measure quality, viability, and function of islet-associated biomaterials and tissues that may be provided by the IIDP to interested researchers. Examples of potential projects could include (but are not limited to) methods to study unique aspects of human islet with a focus on islet interactions with vasculature, neural tissues and the extracellular matrix or projects focused on endocrine exocrine interactions or pancreas immune interactions. (2) Beyond islets: Collaborative studies with IIDP Islet Isolation Centers (IICs) to explore and validate procedures for handling and defining quality control metrics for non-islet pancreatic and pancreas-associated biomaterials to be provided through the network, including acinar and ductal tissues, pancreatic lymph nodes and duodenum. Letter of Intent: June 15, 2023.