Molecular Regulation of Cell Development and Differentiation

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Five years of funding are requested to develop a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) with a focus on the molecular regulation of cell development and differentiation. Five talented new faculty who share this research interest were selected with the goal of helping them become funded independent investigators. A PI, two co-PIs, an internal advisory committee (IAC), a group of mentoring faculty, and an external advisory committee (EAC) of distinguished investigators have been assembled to achieve this goal. The Center is also designed to improve the infrastructure and research environment at KUMC. The expected outcome of the program will be more research productivity as reflected in joint publications, funded R01 grants, and program project and research center grants based on a developmental biology theme. A mentor has been assigned to each initial junior faculty member, and individual mentoring plans and timetables have been developed. Central features of the mentoring plans include ongoing critical evaluation of the research projects by mentors and IAC, semiannual conferences with EAC members, and special training on statistics, manuscript and grant writing in workshops. The initial group will receive support for up to 3 years. Within this time frame, each member will be expected to compete successfully for NIH R01-type research support. Once funded externally, they will rotate off the grant financially to make room for the addition of new junior faculty, and we have firm commitments from Department Chairs/Center Directors who will provide these new faculty. Over 5 years, the grant will support 10-15 independent researchers. Another important feature is to establish 3 new scientific Core capabilities to provide additional research support for the Center's faculty. Together with the Administrative Core A, there will be Cores supporting transgenesis, gene targeting and genotyping (Core B), molecular profiling and recombineering (Molecular Core C) and high resolution imaging (Core D). In summary, the outstanding combination of exceptional scientific talent, existing research environment, requested new Core facilities, and substantial institutional commitment, ensure that this proposed Center will foster the development of a thematic, multidisciplinary research effort, enhance the ability of new investigators to compete independently for NIH and other extramural support, and strengthen the overall research infrastructure at KUMC.