Funded in 1999 by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Southern California Research Center for Alcoholic Liver and Pancreatic Diseases (ALPD) and Cirrhosis unifies 60 investigators from major academic institutions in Southern California to pursue a common mission of being a leader in research, training, and outreach for the diseases. The center, since its inception in 1999, has devoted its efforts for development and use of clinically relevant animal models to gain novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the predisposition to advanced ALPD. These efforts culminated in recent groundbreaking discoveries which have significantly advanced our understanding of synergistic ALPD caused by alcohol and secondary risk factors and identified novel therapeutic targets for the disease, which are currently being tested in patients.

The center’s mission statement: The Southern California Research Center for ALPD and Cirrhosis unifies experts in Southern California to pursue a common mission of being a leader in research, training, outreach, and treatment for ALPD and cirrhosis. Toward this mission, we pursue the following objectives:

1. To maximize our interactive and synergistic environment for a pursuit for the center’s main research theme: identification of therapeutic targets for advanced ALPD and cirrhosis
2. To continue to serve as a national and international resource in our fields of research via provision of unique models, technology and expertise, as well as collaborations with outside investigators
3. To provide comprehensive education and research training at the multi-levels ranging from undergraduate and graduate students to postdoctoral trainees to junior scientists and faculty to foster and support future generations of independent scientists in the ALPD and cirrhosis field
4. To continue outreach efforts to disseminate the center’s new findings to lay public, healthcare workers, and scientists in our home and global communities

Key Center researchers are academically affiliated with renowned institutions such as the University of Southern California (USC), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California, San Diego (UCSD), University of California, Irvine (UCI), Keck Graduate Institute, and the affiliated Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.

The Research Center is supported by grants (P50 AA011999 and R24 AA012885) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism  (NIAAA) and by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and provides Unique Scientific Services that Supports Scientists around the world.

The Center provides unique expertise to the scientific community through its Core Services. The Animal Core provides 16 different clinically-relevant rodent models of ALPD and cirrhosis including the unique intragastric ethanol infusion (iG) mice, humanized liver cancer mice, and models of alcohol-promoted liver and pancreatic cancer. The Integrative Liver Cell Core isolates several liver cell types from these models to support cell-type specific research.
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