The M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study: Years 1 and 2

The M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study starts with Horizon 1, where modern tools will be applied to deepen our understanding of selected diseases with high public health importance and prevalence in communities of interest. Instruments housed in the DHMRI Laboratory will offer high-throughput analytical capability and produce massive datasets for interpretation. Investigators from Duke and other universities in North Carolina will mine the data and interact with scientists operating instruments in the laboratory, experts across NCRC, and colleagues worldwide, to realize the quantum discovery potential represented by molecular characterization of clinically annotated and highly prized biological specimen collections. The study will serve as a major customer and high-profile early adopter of the DHMRI capabilities, processing high volume samples and publishing findings as results are understood.

Parallel to Horizon 1, the study will initiate interactions with the Cabarrus County and Kannapolis area. Working with the Cabarrus Health Alliance, Cabarrus Family Medicine, Carolinas Healthcare System, and other primary care and specialty physician practices, M.U.R.D.O.C.K. investigators will generate a spirit of collaboration with the community at all levels. Through these interactions the study will develop awareness, establish electronic records of Cabarrus citizens and their caregivers, and lay the groundwork for effective conduct of prospective clinical trials.

The M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study: Years 3 Through 5

In Horizon 2 of the study, the strength of the Duke Clinical Research Institute in clinical trials design and management will be utilized to screen and recruit appropriately selected cohorts of patients for prospective study. In some cases, family members of affected patients may be recruited; in some cases, healthy control subjects will be enrolled to serve as comparators to patients with documented illnesses.

As part of these prospective studies, biological samples will be banked for immediate characterization by DHMRI and stored in the Biorepository for future use. Through ongoing alliances in the healthcare community of Cabarrus County, the study will continue to foster strong collegial relationships with local providers to ensure long-term success and the most effective multi-disciplinary teamwork possible.

The M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study: Big Picture at 5 Years

Horizons 1 and 2 will suggest and validate novel sub-classes of common diseases. In this process it may be discovered that these new strata can be identified and their management monitored using specific biomarkers or diagnostic techniques. Findings may shine light on new mechanisms of disease progression that hold promise as new therapeutic targets for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. A next generation of prevention and interventional strategies may emerge from the first five years of the M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study, generating new collaborations, new investment, and new horizons of inquiry.

Starting with assets in our reach today, the M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study could catalyze a cycle that will, under a single virtual roof at DHMRI, use molecular techniques, generate and test clinical hypotheses, aggregate and disseminate new knowledge for clinical practice and disease prevention, stimulate novel mechanistic theory and discovery, elucidate and test novel prevention or intervention strategies, discover and evaluate new therapies. Most importantly, it will promote wellness in a way that will consolidate emerging knowledge, strengthen our population and healthcare system, and unburden our economy.

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