Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CONDA) Center

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Abstract/Summary: Overall Component This application for a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) would initiate a formal Center to lead, support, and expand neuroimaging and clinical cognitive neuroscience research in Nebraska, with an emphasis on lifespan development. It is an opportune moment for human neuroscience research in the Omaha community, regionally, and across the world, with many new research tools and government initiatives intended to illuminate the next frontier of biomedicine. The proposed Cognitive Neuroscience of Development and Aging (CONDA) Center will provide critical resources and support to faculty from four institutions: the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), the Boys Town National Research Hospital, the University of Nebraska – Omaha, and Creighton University. The Administrative Core of the CONDA Center will be housed at UNMC, which is less than two miles from each of the other institutions, and will be comprised of Training, Evaluation, Engagement, Administration, and Mentoring areas (i.e., the TEEAM Core). The new CONDA Center will also include a state- of-the-art Neuroimaging Acquisition and Analysis Core, as well as extensive support for four primary COBRE research projects led by a promising group of NIH-defined early-stage investigators. Upon initiation of the Center, the TEEAM Core would immediately implement a series of new programs that are designed to develop human cognitive neuroscience on the CONDA Campus and across the region. The TEEAM Core would also rapidly implement a comprehensive research support structure that includes the Neuroimaging Core facility, training opportunities, pilot projects and mini-grants programs, a new seminar series, postdoctoral fellowships, intern- ships for growing temporary and long-term laboratory staffing, and a participant registry to enhance recruitment. In parallel, the TEEAM Core would promote the successful launch of the primary COBRE research projects and, through a mentoring network approach, implement a career development and evaluation support system to monitor progress and ensure Junior PIs and their mentoring teams reach critical milestones. As per the new research core, the Neuroimaging Acquisition and Analysis Core facility would be the only core dedicated to human brain research in the state of Nebraska, and would provide regional scientists with state-of-the-art tools for neuroimaging and neuromodulation, including research-dedicated MRI and MEG systems. The new Center would also receive exceptional institutional support, including financial support for CONDA programs, major equipment expenses, and Core staffing. The overall CONDA team includes an established group of PIs in neuro- imaging, brain dynamics, aging, and brain and cognitive development, as well as a strong cohort of emerging junior investigators using innovative cognitive and affective neuroscience methods to address major questions in human neuroscience across the lifespan. These junior scientists were all hired in the past three years, and this new wealth of concentrated local expertise has primed us for a trajectory of accelerated development of neuro- science and neuroimaging toward national prominence, an aim for which the new CONDA Center will be integral.