Core--Research Translation

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The Research Translation Core has planned a series of activities that will include collaborations with government agencies, meetings and new websites providing technology transfer and communication to a broad audience as suggested by the SBRP RFA. We have initiated the recruitment of a group of cooperators that include federal and state agencies in Michigan and New Jersey and industrial consortiums in the same states. These documented cooperating units have indicated their interest in participating in technology transfer and we will continue to recruit new cooperators using the same methods we have employed to date. An annual one-day meeting with representatives of the cooperating institutions will be held in which selected projects will present highlights of their research progress. Cooperators will be asked to present their views of research needs in the areas of site remediation and health risk analysis. A generous amount of time will be set aside for individual and group discussions in an attempt to foster agreements and resolve differences. In addition, an international symposium on computational and modeling approaches will be held to enhance the understanding and extent of the health threat from environmental contamination. This activity will be supported using funds from a variety of sources. The meeting will enrich our proposed research program which emphasizes the computational system biology approach spanning from molecule to intact organisms. This approach promises more accurate predictability of impacts on human health resulting from exposure to TCDD-like environmental contaminants. In a different and innovative approach to research translation, a set of molecular tools for use in identifying the capacity of microbial consortia to degrade hazardous chemicals in the environment will be developed in specific projects and cores of the research program. These molecular tools will be placed in a data repository including a website open for public use. The website will contain a variety of tools developed by investigators in this and other programs. These tools will be maintained and kept up to date by incorporating new information as it emerges from our own effort as well that of others. A tutorial will be produced to inform users and instruct them on the use of the tools and information in the repository. This activity will serve research scientists, biodegradation engineers and administrators to make more rapid progress in developing strategies to decontaminate and detoxify sites containing hazardous chemicals.