Center for Skeletal Research (Overall Application)

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The overall goal of the Center for Skeletal Research is to foster interdisciplinary and collaborative work that leads to a deeper understanding of skeletal biology and disease. The Center will build upon and expand a community of bone scientists in the Endocrine Unit and other Units at the Massachusetts General Hospital, other Harvard institutions, and Boston University and other institutions in Boston and the broader New England region. These scientists are diverse, including clinical investigators and laboratory investigators using a broad array of approaches from multiple disciplines. The mechanisms that the Center will use to accomplish its goal include Core Facilities, a Pilot and Feasibility Grant Program, and an enrichment program. The Cores will include an Administrative Core, a Skeletal Phenotyping Core and a Bone Cell Analysis Core. These Cores will emphasize the development of new techniques that can drive the science of Center investigators, as well as the provision of expert and efficient service. The services include histology, microCT imaging, human and mouse bone cell isolation, bulk and single cell RNA sequencing of bone, and bone signaling assays. The Administrative Core will direct the research cores, a Pilot and Feasibility Program, and also an enrichment program. The enrichment program will include a monthly seminar series featuring talks by junior investigators of the Center, a methods workshop series, a Pilot and Feasibility Program, an Innovation Awards program (travel awards and mini-grant program), and a yearly Symposium/poster session. The goal of the Pilot and Feasibility Grant Program will be to allow young investigators to develop sufficient data to obtain their own grants; in that context, a vigorous mentoring program will complement the funding. The seminar series will foster collaboration and communication among Center scientists. Young investigators will present current data in some sessions, while others will bring in distinguished bone scientists from outside of Boston to enrich the environment. This series will also include presentations by Core Directors that explain the techniques used in the Cores and will provide a forum for feedback by Center investigators that will include suggestions for novel Core services. An Administrative Core will assure effective functioning of these activities through regular meetings of Core Directors that, four times a year, will also involve meeting with an Advisory Committee made up of senior investigators within the Center, as well as investigators from elsewhere with relevant experience leading similar programs. The Center will be committed to sharing its innovations with the broader community of bone scientists across the country.