The University of South Florida Asthma, Allergy and Immunology Clinical Research Unit is located in Tampa, Florida. It is one block north of the University of South Florida. Tampa International Airport is located 15 miles to the southwest of the Tampa campus and easily accessible within 30 minutes via Interstates 4 and 275.

The Tampa Bay metropolitan area encompasses a 4-county area with a total population of 2.5 million. Major cities include Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The Tampa Bay area has a varied ethnic distribution which is easily accessible with minimal media exposure. Patients for studies are also accessible through a 10,000 square foot clinic under the supervision of Drs. Lockey, Fox, Ledford, Glaum and Cho. The clinic sees approximately 70 new patients with asthma and allergic or immunologic disease per week. There are also up to 400 follow-up visits per week. In addition, all three physicians work at the University of South Florida Medical Clinics where they direct allergy and immunology clinics and an immunodefiency clinic.

The USF Asthma, Allergy and Immunology Clinical Research Unit offers the following amenities:

• Two patient exam rooms, each equipped with a 12-lead Burdick EKG machine
• Two spirometry machine
• Nitric oxide testing machine
• Comfortable patient waiting area equipped with DVD player
• Kitchen area for patient use for extended visits
• CLIA certified laboratory
• Monitoring room with telephone and wireless or DSL internet access
• Daily Fed Ex or UPS pick up
• Remote data entry capabilities and experience
• 24 hour fax on a dedicated line
• Telephone system with private voice mail for each staff member
• On-site archiving
• Ambient centrifuge
• Refrigerated centrifuge
• -80 freezer for sample storage
• -20 freezer for sample or drug storage
• Secure refrigerator for drug storage
• Secure drug storage closet

Clinical Procedures

• Acoustic rhinometry
• Allergen challenge (lung)
• Allergen challenge (nasal, using acoustic rhinometry)
• Allergy skin test
• Asthma control test
• Blood draw
• ECG
• End-point skin titration
• Exercise chllanege
• Exhaled nitric oxide
• Hypertonic saline challenge
• Impedance oscillometry
• Mannitol challenge
• Methacholine challenge
• Microscopy
• Nasal scraping
• Nasal secretion
• Pollen counts
• Rininoscopy
• Rhinomanometry
• Spirometry with pre and post bronchodilation
• Sputum induction
• Study drug infusion
• Urine drug screen
• Urine hCG

Laboratory Capabilities

• Flow cytometry
• Cell surface phenotyping of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), up to 14 parameters (DB FACS Canto II)
• Intracellular cytokine staining of PBMC
• Apoptosis/cell cycle assays
• Functional analysis of lymphocyte populations
• Magnetic (Miltenyl Automacs Pro) or flow cytometric (BD FACS Aria II) sorting of lymphocyte subsets
• Antigen-specific and nonspecific lymphocyte proliferation/differentiation
• Chemokine/cytokine assays
• Cytometric bead arrays for cytokines/chemokines
• Real-time quantitative PCR
• Analysis of PBMC cytokine/chemokine mRNA expression (individual cytokines genes or PCR arrays)
• Identification and quantification of plasma miRNA (proprietary TaqMan assay)
• ELISA
• Detection of serum / body fluid cytokine and chemokine levels
• Detection serum antibody subtypes
• Biomaker assessment