Vision Research Core

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Overall Component: Project Summary The Vision Sciences group at the University of Washington consists of 36 vision researchers who currently hold 24 qualifying NEI R01 grants and two new NEI R01 grants that received excellent priority scores and are likely to be funded. The objective of the Vision Research Core Grant at the University of Washington is to provide critically needed infrastructure to support the research programs of these exceedingly talented investigators and to promote collaborations among members of the group and vision scientists worldwide. The group’s common goals are to elucidate basic mechanism of the visual system and its disorders, and to develop potential treatments and preventions for blinding disorders. To achieve these goals, we have organized facilities, services and shared instrumentation into the following three Components: (1) Cellular Biology Services and Shared Instrumentation (2) Molecular Biology Services and Shared Instrumentation (3) Systems Biology Services and Shared Instrumentation These modules provide resources commonly used by multiple laboratories that are essential to the success of on-going projects as well as to enable new collaborations. The University of Washington (UW), is committed to the support of Vision Science. In 2013, the School of Medicine (UWSOM) established a Vision Sciences Center in a new, state-of-the-art research building on the UW Medicine Research Campus at South Lake Union (SLU3.1). The Vision Sciences Center occupies ~25,000 square feet (sq. ft.), of which ~3000 sq. ft. is dedicated to the Vision Research Core. UWSOM provided $650,000 in funds for the purchase of new equipment for the Vision Sciences Center. The Vision Research Core also maintains equipment on the UW main campus in the Health Sciences Building to accommodate the needs of investigators who chose not to move their labs to SLU3.1. During the last funding cycle, the University provided competitive start-up packages that allowed the recruitment of 7 junior vision research faculty across three departments, and an 8th recruitment is underway. We request support in the form of this Core Grant for Vision Research  to help maintain shared instrumentation through service contracts  to provide personnel support for module scientists who assist and train investigators and their staff in the use of the equipment  to provide select services to avoid duplication of equipment and effort, and enhance the productivity of the UW vision research group  to help us recruit new vision scientists