Core Facilities to Support Alcohol Research.

描述(由申请人提供)：研究急性或慢性酒精暴露影响组织功能的细胞和分子机制是了解酒精相关疾病基础的基础。托马斯·杰斐逊大学(TJU)的酒精研究人员与新泽西州纽瓦克的新泽西医学和牙科大学(UMDNJ)、德州纽瓦克的特拉华大学(UD)和肯塔基州路易斯维尔的路易斯维尔大学(UL)的研究人员合作，参与了大量研究项目，以探索这种关系。这些研究计划得到了各种研究和培训赠款的支持，其中许多都是通过NIAAA提供支持的。目前共有26项酒精研究领域的个人资助正在进行中，还有8项正在等待TJU的调查人员及其在UMDNJ、UD和UL的合作者的修订。这些研究项目受益于集中式研究支持设施的提供，这些设施使研究人员能够获得高度专业化的工具和技术，并结合必要的专业知识，促进其在酒精研究中的应用。此外，这些设施极大地增加了开发新技术的机会，并促进了它们在酒精研究中的应用。提交这份R24申请是为了请求继续为这些支持设施提供资金。研究支持设施包括动物资源设施、显微成像和电子显微镜设施，以及功能基因组学、蛋白质组学和计算生物学的核心设施。这些设施的集中维护提高了设备的利用率，提供了更高的效率，并改善了对精密机械的维护。这些设施的提供也鼓励了尖端技术的新应用。它允许研究人员使用他们不太熟悉的设备，并在实验设计和数据解释方面提供帮助。参与机构的专业知识和设施的结合将极大地增强协同和协作的机会，并鼓励在区域和国家范围内推动酒精研究的新方向。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which acute or chronic ethanol exposure affects tissue function is fundamental for understanding the basis of alcohol-related disorders. Alcohol researchers at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) in collaboration with investigators at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in Newark, NJ, the University of Delaware (UD) in Newark, DE, and the University of Louisville (UL), in Louisville, KY, are engaged in a large number of research programs to explore such relationships. These research programs are supported by a variety of research and training grants, many of which are supported through NIAAA. A total of 26 individual grants in the area of alcohol research are currently active, and eight more are pending or under revision from investigators at TJU and their collaborators at UMDNJ, UD and UL. These research programs have benefited greatly from the availability of centralized research support facilities that give investigators access to highly specialized tools and techniques, combined with the necessary expertise to facilitate their application to alcohol research. In addition, these facilities greatly enhance the opportunities for the development of new techniques and promote their application to alcohol research. This R24 application is being submitted to request continued funding for these support facilities. The research support facilities include an animal resources facility, a microscopic imaging and electron microscopy facility, and a core facility for functional genomics, proteomics and computational biology. Central maintenance of these facilities enhances the utilization of equipment, providing greater efficiency and improving the maintenance of delicate machinery. The availability of these facilities also encourages new application of sophisticated techniques. It permits investigators to use equipment with which they are not intimately familiar and provides assistance in the design of experiments and the interpretation of data. The combination of expertise and facilities at the participating institutions will greatly enhance the opportunities for synergy and collaboration and give incentives to stimulate new directions in alcohol research, both regionally and nationally.