COBRE Phase 2: Center for Neuroplasticity at the University of Puerto Rico

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Project Abstract The main goal of this application is to purchase four new pieces of equipment to enhance the UPR COBRE Center for Neuroplasticity (UPR-CCfN) and the Neuroimaging and Electrophysiological Facility (NIEF, https://www.nief-upr.com/) at the Molecular Science Research Center (MSRC, (http://cicim.upr.edu/). The UPR-CCfN is a collaborative effort between researchers from the Medical Sciences Campus and the Department of Biology at the Rio Piedras Campus. Its goal is to understand a wide range of neurological problems, including deciphering the neural circuits that control behavior, the origins of neural and mental health disorders such as autism, PTSD, dementia, elucidating the molecular basis for alcohol neuroadaptation, addiction, and neuroprotection. This supplemental application is the result of the collaborative efforts of 22 scientists to improve our COBRE UPR-CCfN. The increased demands on the variety of services and applications that must be provided by the NIEF have greatly increased based on its significant growth of users as well as the interdisciplinary nature of the science. We propose purchasing the following four new pieces of equipment: (1) Nikon Eclipse LV100N Polarized microscope, (2) Cytiva AKTA Purifier 100 FPLC System (3) LI-COR Odyssey Western Blot system and (4) QuantStudio 3 PRO-Real Time PRC system. After carefully evaluating various commercial sources on the market, we have determined these four instruments are ideal for the UPR-CCfN. These instruments will also impact a list of new investigators recently hired at the UPR-CCfN, as well as new grant projects that include biologically relevant studies such as HIV-associated dementia studies, lipidomic analysis of ion channels detergent-complexes to improve crystallization, schistosomiasis neuropeptide characterization, characterization of a neuroprotective nutritional supplement against ischemic stroke, and natural product analogs design. The proposed instruments will catalyze the multidisciplinary collaborations between researchers at the CCfN and other institutions within and outside of Puerto Rico. Another important aspect of the NIEF's development is the services the facility will provide to researchers being recruited shortly to pursue basic and biomedical-relevant projects at the UPR. Furthermore, the upgraded NIEF will optimize faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate student expertise and skills so vital for competitive research. Finally, these instruments will greatly impact the development of the large student population currently supported by NIH, NASA, and NSF- sponsored fellowships or assistantships.