Tools and equipment are essential for doctors and scientists as they continue groundbreaking research at the University of Chicago. And, thanks to the GI Research Foundation, this pioneering work continues and advances.
More than $1.5 million was raised during the Annual GIRF Ball held May 2018 — see link here for an event recap. All funds secured during the Ball’s mid-evening paddle raise is enabling GIRF to fund the purchase 16 new, sterile, metabolic chambers — among the first of its kind in the United States. The always-sterile chambers are the size of a shoebox, hold one mouse per chamber, and can tell researchers the exact fuel source mice are metabolizing.
“Metabolic chambers accurately assess how gut microbes impact metabolic disruption common in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Celiac Disease, and obesity. They are the best way to identify microbiome changes,” says Dr. Vanessa Leone, Instructor of Medicine
Section of Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago, and recipient of GIRF research funds. “These chambers will also allow for more collaboration with other University of Chicago doctors like endocrinologists who examine gut microbes.”
Technology like metabolic chambers afford the University of Chicago a unique research tool, positioning the institution to apply for federal grants that support impactful research.
Says Dr. Leone, “None of this would be possible without GIRF’s generosity. We are so grateful.”
The chambers are being designed now for hands-on medical research use in early 2019.