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In 2002, the Islet Cell Resource Center (ICR) was awarded to City of Hope (COH) by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) to address the crucial need for availability of human pancreatic islets for diabetes research worldwide. For over 20 years, the program has worked with leading islet isolation centers (IICs) to distribute high quality human islets, associated tissues, and complementary data to the diabetes research community. Islet distributions began in 2004 after establishing standard protocols, determining quality requirements, and subcontracting with 10 expert IICs. In 2009, the ICR transitioned into the Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP), funded by the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).


Major IIDP milestones over the past 20+ years are described below (starting in 2024 back to inception in 2002):

Our History




2024







Technology Resources Award (TRA)


In October 2024, the IIDP issued three investigators funding for proposals for the Technology Resources Award (TRA) which advance human islet research by providing support for high-impact studies to enhance services provided by the IIDP to the research community.


 



 






Data Resource-Trainee Scholar Award (DRTSA)


In November 2024, the IIDP Data Resource Trainee Scholar Award (DRTSA) was awarded to advance research in human pancreas biology by providing trainees with support and access to detailed donor and islet data contained within the IIDP’s Research Data Repository (RDR) that will enable important secondary analyses to explore the relationships among donor characteristics, islet phenotyping, and genetic risk.


 



 


2023







NIB Tissue Distribution


In October 2023, at the request of NIDDK and interested diabetes researchers, the IIDP began distributing Non-islet Biospecimens (including Acinar, Duodenal, Ductal, Spleen Tissues; Frozen Pancreas Pieces, Peri-Pancreatic Lymph Nodes, Serum, and Plasma).


 



 


2022







Islet Isolation Center Expansion


In November 2022, the IIDP called for applications to increase the number of IICs (due to donor availability and isolation decline at IIDP centers following the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic).


 



 






Human Islet Genotyping Initiative (HIGI)


In March 2022, the Human Islet Genotyping Initiative (HIGI), directed by Dr. Anna Gloyn of the Translational Genomics of Diabetes Lab in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of medicine, was established. The mission of the HIGI is to generate array-based genotype data on all islet donors to enable a summary of their genetic risk for diabetes to be displayed for users.


 



 


2021







Stored Resources


In November 2021, the IIDP released the Stored Resources, where investigators can search and request inventory of flash frozen islets and histology slides by race, sex, disease status, and age.


 



 






Research Data Repository (RDR)


In May 2021, the The IIDP made the Research Data Repository (RDR) available to any researcher that is interested in obtaining data related to IIDP human islet isolations. Investigators interested in accessing the RDR can fill out a short data study application that is reviewed NIH and IIDP. Upon approval of the application, investigators have access to the data on 1,400+ IIDP human islet isolations with over 200 data fields.

The RDR provides a convenient way for investigators to search for data on human islet isolations including:

  • Detailed donor data

  • Islet broadcast data

  • Islet phenotyping data (purity, viability and hormone secretion profiles)

  • Genotyping data (T1D & T2D Genetic Risk Scores, and Ancestry)

  • User-invoked filters

  • Options to save custom filter profiles and record lists


 



 


2020







Subscription Information


In October 2020, the IIDP released the Subscription Summary to allow IIDP researchers access to subscription data including payment and invoice histories. Researchers can process secure transactions via credit card, ACH, or check payments directly from the IIDP secure website.


 



 


2019







Islet Data Checklist for Publication


In January 2019, the IIDP made available to approved investigators an automated means to populate the required Checklist of islet characteristics for human islet experiments for manuscript submissions to the journals Diabetologia and Diabetes.


 



 






Non-Islet Pancreatic Tissue Distribution


In May 2019, the IIDP begins the distribution of the Non-Islet Pancreatic Tissue (NIPT) that remains after the isolation and purification process. Commonly known as “acinar” tissue, the offers for NIPT are made prior to the islet broadcasts and will not be contingent or otherwise linked to the islets from the same donor. The NIPT is available as both freshly isolated and flash frozen samples, in most cases. This was the precursor to the expanded Non-Islet Biospecimens initiative begun in 2023.


 



 


2018







Expanded Donor Data Download


In August 2018, the IIDP provided researchers with the ability to download expanded donor data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) for received shipments.


 



 






RRID Generation


In May 2018, IIDP added an automated tag called a Research Resource Identifier (RRID) to all isolations. This identifier is generated in collaboration with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and dkNET, through which RRID metadata is catalogued and tracked. IIDP has generated this identifier for every one of their islet preparations, in order to cooperate with the National Institute of Health (NIH) mandates for Rigor and Reproducibility.


 



 


2017







RFA Leads to Selection of Five IIDP Isolation Centers


In the Fall of 2017, with the renewal of its NIH-funded grant, the IIDP selected 5 islet isolation centers to provide high quality human islets to the diabetes research community. These centers were strategically located across the United States. The 5 centers provided excellent islet production and pre-shipment data to the diabetes research community worldwide.


 



 


2016







First HIPP Shipments


In July 2016, the Human Islet Phenotyping Program (HIPP) provided post-shipment data on islet shipments to IIDP investigators. HIPP provided additional information regarding the morphology of the islets post-shipment and provided purity, viability and functional data that are available to investigators through the IIDP website. The HIPP data was released to investigators in 2018.


 



 


2012







RFA Leads to Selection of Six Isolation Centers


In October 2012, the IIDP grant was renewed and the same 6 centers remained as the islet isolation centers affiliated with the IIDP. These centers provided high quality human islets to the diabetes research community. In 2012, the grant was renewed and the same 6 centers have remained as the current islet isolation centers affiliated with the IIDP


 



 


2011







Pilot Program Initiated


In January 2011, in an effort to support investigators new to human islet research, investigators with bridge funding, and investigators wishing to pursue small pilots prior to submitting a grant, the IIDP initiated a Pilot Program that provided investigators with up to 250,000 IEQs without the need to pay a subscription fee. In 2018, support for this program was supplemented by the JDRF for several years through the Islet Award Initiative (IAI).


 



 


2009







Conversion of ICR to IIDP


COH coordinates distribution of human islets to diabetes research community as the IIDP.


In August 2009, City of Hope, under the guidance of Dr. Joyce Niland, won an NIH RFA award for a contract to supply human islets to the research community. City of Hope won the award based on the management of the previous Islet Cell Resource (ICR) 2001 grant supported by National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The IIDP has been serving the needs of the islet research community since 2004 with the distribution of high-quality human islets.


 



 


2008







Start of JDRF Islet Distribution Program


In 2008, the JDRF suggested that their islet isolation Centers distribute islets to JDRF investigators through the existing ICR web-based infrastructure utilizing the MAID algorithm. The ICR incorporated these Centers into its distribution program. Any islets not distributed to JDRF investigators were subsequently distributed to ICR investigators. This served as a way to maximize the use of isolated human islets for research and grew the ICR’s investigator base.


 



 


2007







1st Islet Broadcast via Matching Algorithm for Islet Distribution (MAID)


In March 2007, the first islet broadcast via the Matching Algorithm for Islet Distribution (MAID) was completed. In order to ensure that all approved investigators were treated fairly in the distribution of human islets by the ICR, the ICR-ABCC developed an algorithm that matches the investigators’ requests for islets and donor criteria with the islets available for distribution. This algorithm ensures a fair and equitable distribution of human islets to the research community based on investigator need.


 



 


2004







Start of ICR Basic Science Distributions


In February 2004, the ICR who had previously distributed human islets for clinical transplant, began distributing human islets for research. This distribution occurred by a manual method of calling investigators to determine if the islets available could be placed. In the next few years the ICR developed an automated system for islet distribution and in 2007 succeeded in distributing islets using the MAID algorithm.


 



 


2002







Administrative and Bioinformatics Coordinating Center


In September 2002, shortly after the creation of the ICR, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) commissioned the Administrative and Bioinformatics Coordinating Center (ABCC) for the administration and data support of the ICR. City of Hope, under the leadership of Dr. Joyce Niland, was granted this award and maintained the administrative and biostatistical management role of the ICR until the program's completion and transition into its new iteration as the Integrated Islet Distribution Program (IIDP) in 2009. As the ICR-ABCC, City of Hope provided web development, data collection, statistical analysis, scientific study facilitation, and islet distribution infrastructure and logistical support.


 



 






Islet Cell Resource Project Launched


In 2001, the Islet Cell Resource Centers (ICRs), were funded by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, components of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services from September, 2001 through July, 2009, and comprised an interactive group of 10 academic laboratories charged with three major goals: 1) to provide pancreatic islets of cGMP-quality to eligible investigators for use in FDA-approved, IRB-approved transplantation protocols; 2) to optimize the harvest, purification, function, storage, and shipment of islets while developing tests that characterized the quality and predicted the effectiveness of islets transplanted into patients with diabetes mellitus; and 3) to provide pancreatic islets for basic science studies.