CORE GRANT FOR VISION RESEARCH

简介(由申请人提供)：这项建议的总体目标是为39名首席调查员和11名相关调查员提供核心支持服务，以：(1)提高他们研究的质量和数量；(2)促进不同背景和技能的调查员之间的合作；以及(3)招募新的调查员参与视觉研究。PI分为几类：心理物理学/系统神经科学、视觉转导/视网膜变性/基因疗法、眼科(晶状体/近视/青光眼)和临床研究。个人研究中心持有来自NEI的个人研究补助金，而准会员持有来自其他来源的个人补助金。核心包括5个模块： 生物统计学在实验设计和数据分析方面提供专家协助，特别是临床研究。 计算-插图提供了科学计算以及专家计算机支持的资源。 仪器为光学和电生理仪器的设计和建造提供了商业来源无法获得的东西。 分子生物学提供DNA测序和基因图谱。 作为一个新的模块，生理成像将提供一个新的多单元记录的设施和一个相邻的设施，用于在共聚焦显微镜下对整个细胞进行成像的同时，光学记录来自体外神经组织的各种功能信号，如钙。该模块将极大地提高系统研究人员的能力，并将为分子遗传学和基因治疗的研究人员提供新的高效功能分析。 总之，Core加快了我们的进步，改善了合作机会，并帮助将基础研究转化为临床应用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad goal of this proposal is to provide core support services for 39 principle investigators and 11 associated investigators to: (1) enhance the quality and quantity of their research; (2) facilitate collaborations between investigators with different backgrounds and skills; and (3) recruit new investigators to vision research. The PIs sort into several groups: psychophysics/systems neuroscience, visual transduction/retinal degeneration/gene therapy, eye (lens/ myopia/glaucoma), and clinical research. PIs hold individual research grants from NEI, and Associates hold individual grants from other sources. The Core includes 5 modules: Biostatistics provides expert assistance in experimental design and data analysis particularly for clinical studies. Computation-Illustration provides resources for scientific computing as well as expert computer support. Instrumentation provides for design and construction of optical and electrophysiological instruments that are unavailable from commercial sources. Molecular Biology provides DNA sequencing and gene mapping. Physiological Imaging, proposed here as a new module, would provide a new facility for multi-unit recording and an adjacent facility for optical recording of various functional signals from neural tissue in vitro, such as calcium, while imaging the whole cell by confocal microscopy. This module will greatly enhance the capabilities of the systems investigators and will provide new and efficient functional assays for investigators of molecular genetics and gene therapy. Altogether the Core accelerates our progress, improves opportunities for collaboration and helps translate basic research into clinical application.