Establishment of a UMDNJ NeuroProteomics Core Facility

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Advances in proteomics have provided unprecedented opportunities for neurological disease related research. At the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), we have assembled a team of seven NINDS investigators whose research and collaborations - work that includes the exploration of neuronal differentiation, synapse stability, and inflammation, as well as the biological mechanisms of circadian clock, Parkinson's disease, and Batten disease - would be significantly enhanced by the availability of a proteomics Core. Thus, we propose using a NINDS center core grant to establish a NeuroProteomics Core Facility at UMDNJ, a resource that would not overlap with existing facilities. Successful application of proteomics requires both state-of-the-art instrumentation and experienced operators, and UMDNJ has already taken steps to assemble both. Using funds from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, with additional financial support from the NIH and NSF, most of the Core's equipment has already been purchased and installed in a newly renovated 1000-square-foot Center for Advanced Proteomics Research (CAPR) under the direction of Dr. Hong Li, an experienced mass spectrometric with a neuroscience background. Moreover, UMDNJ has allocated significant financial support for space renovation, as well as the bulk of the principle investigator's salary. An NINDS core grant would be used to cover one-third of the CAPR operational costs by providing dedicated personnel in sample preparation, 2D gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics, as well as service contracts and supplies associated with NINDS qualifying projects. Our rapidly growing local neuroscience research community (including over 30 NINDS investigators at UMDNJ) would also have access to this facility. Two committees, composed of both NINDS and other CAPR investigators, would oversee the facility's fiscal and scientific management as well as its daily operation. A User Club would provide an important forum for data sharing and collaborations. With the benefit of a NINDS grant, neuroscience investigators at UMDNJ could use state of-the art proteomics technology to maximum benefit: to complement their existing research approaches and promote new research directions and collaborations.