CORE CENTER FOR VISION RESEARCH

描述（由申请人提供）：为密歇根大学视觉研究核心中心寻求持续支持。要求支助五个模块：1)电子和计算机模块，用于设计和建造电子设备，并协助研究计算机及其与实验室仪器的接口，配备一名电子工程师；2)功能评估模块，用于活体动物眼结构成像和眼功能评估，配备一名技术人员；3)仪表车间模块，用于设计和建造定制机械仪表，并修改或修理现有仪表，由仪表制造商配备；4)分子生物学模块，提供分子生物学所需的仪器和服务，并协助分析微阵列和生物信息学数据，由一名技术人员和一名统计遗传学家组成；5)形态学和成像模块，用于提供最先进的设备和专家人员，用于处理眼部组织，显微镜（光，宽视场荧光和共聚焦）和图像分析，由技术人员配备。密歇根大学视觉研究核心中心的具体目标是改善视觉科学家的研究环境，促进视觉系统及其疾病的合作研究，并扩大校园内的视觉研究，将非视觉科学家的技能和观点引入视觉系统的研究问题。24名参与研究人员目前拥有13项NEI R01资助和6项其他NEI研究资助。这些研究者的研究兴趣是多样化的，包括电生理学、神经生物学、生物化学、分子生物学、分子遗传学、发育生物学、生物统计学、免疫学和临床眼科学。核心中心位于凯洛格眼科中心，占地30万平方英尺。建筑综合体包含了每个模块的专用空间，以及最先进的基础和临床研究设施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Continued support is sought for the Core Center for Vision Research at the University of Michigan. Support for five modules is requested: 1) an Electronics and Computer Module for designing and constructing electronic equipment and providing assistance with research computers and their interfaces with laboratory instruments, staffed by an electronics engineer; 2) a Functional Assessment Module for the imaging of ocular structures and the evaluation of ocular function in living animals, staffed by a technician; 3) an Instrument Shop Module, for designing and constructing custom mechanical instrumentation and modifying or repairing existing instrumentation, staffed by an instrument maker; 4) a Molecular Biology Module for providing access to instrumentation and services necessary for molecular biology as well as assistance with the analysis of microarray and bioinformatics data, staffed by a technician and a statistical geneticist; and 5) a Morphology and Imaging Module for providing access to state-of-the-art equipment and expert personnel for the processing of ocular tissues, microscopy (light, wide-field fluorescence, and confocal), and image analysis, staffed by a technician. The specific aims of the Core Center for Vision Research at the University of Michigan are to enhance the research environment for vision scientists, facilitate collaborative studies of the visual system and its diseases, and expand vision research on this campus to bring the skills and perspectives of non-vision scientists to bear on research issues of the visual system. The 24 participating investigators currently hold 13 NEI R01 grants as well as 6 other NEI research grants. The research interests of these investigators are diverse and include electrophysiology, neurobiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular genetics, developmental biology, biostatistics, immunology, and clinical ophthalmology. The Core Center is housed within the W.K. Kellogg Eye center, a 300,000 sq. ft. building complex containing space dedicated to each of the modules, plus state-of-the-art facilities for basic and clinical research.