NIH Grant Enables U to Establish Center for Iron and Heme Disorders

Hematologist John D. Phillips, PhD, leads project as principal investigator

(SALT LAKE CITY)—The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK) has awarded Dr. John Phillips of the Division of Hematology a five-year, $4 million U54 grant to establish the Center for Iron and Heme Disorders at the University of Utah (CIHD).

The center, comprising three core areas and 22 investigators, aids researchers who are studying the role of iron and heme in normal physiology and disease. Phillips, a research professor of internal medicine, director of the University of Utah Health Sciences Core Research Facilities and mentor in the Vice President’s Clinical and Translational Research Scholars Program (VPCAT), is CIHD’s director.

Researchers can access the center’s expertise in three core areas:

• Metabolomics
• Iron and heme analysis
• Genome editing (CRISPR), for researchers studying iron and heme metabolism and non-malignant hematology

This will be of benefit to those groups nationally studying common diseases such as hemochromatosis, as well as rare diseases like porphyria.

In addition, the Center offers financial support for research pilot projects that can lead to extramural funding as well as an Outreach and Enrichment Program offering workshops to provide investigators detailed training in core technologies.

“This is a great opportunity to establish collaborative research with the top laboratories in the fields of iron homeostasis and heme biosynthesis,” Phillips says.  “Our-state-of-the-art facilities can provide results linking basic science to translational medicine.”

Although the CIHD is based in the health sciences center, all University of Utah faculty members are encouraged to participate in Center activities (for details go to cihd.cores.utah.edu.) For additional information about the scope and function of the CIHD, contact Dr. John Phillips at john.phillips@hsc.utah.edu.

The NIDDK is part of the NIH. The grant number is NIH U54DK110858.