EXTRAMULAR RESEARCH FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Neurological diseases and trauma are major health concerns in the United States and World. Neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, debilitate an increasingly large fraction of aging population. Traumatic injury to the brain and spinal cord impact all age groups. In spite of the enormous human and economic costs, there are few effective therapies for neurological disorders. In response to this national health care need, Northwestern University and the Feinberg School of Medicine have committed to build a neuroscientific community at the Chicago and the Evanston campuses capable of having a significant clinical impact. This effort is well underway with over 100 basic and clinical faculty in the neurosciences receiving over $35 million in federal research dollars annually. The institutional strategic vision for this community cuts across conventional boundaries to promote synergy and collaboration. This application requests funds to complete a neuroscience floor in the new Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center. Doing so will allow six NIH-funded neuroscience research groups with shared scientific goals and complementary research skills to be brought together into contiguous laboratory and office space. Currently, these groups are spread over several floors of the existing basic science complex - an arrangement that has impeded communication, sharing of research tools and collaboration. The plan also maximizes space utilization by creating shared core facilities. This plan will not only meet national research needs in neurodegenerative diseases, but will lead to more efficient utilization of over $3M/year in direct costs provided to these six investigators by NIH.