ShEEP Request for Real Time PCR Quant Studio 12K Flex and Tecan Liquid Handler for Illumina HiScan

退伍军人事务部的责任是为那些 在军队中为国效力研究与发展办公室 退伍军人事务部关心的是通过更好地改善退伍军人的医疗保健。 了解疾病的基本组成部分，需要医疗条件的临床表现， 治疗，理解和改善卫生服务的提供，以及康复科学。 此应用程序请求支持为研究人员提供关键基础设施的共享仪器 通过这些机制来改善退伍军人的健康状况。研究界在 普罗维登斯VA医疗中心在这些领域都有着悠久的卓越历史。从生物 心血管疾病的基础，精神病理学的仔细表征， 创新长期服务，为精神和身体障碍的杰出康复工作 普罗维登斯VAMC在以退伍军人为中心的医学研究领域取得了巨大的成果。 与这一卓越历史相一致的是对尖端研究基础设施的要求， 这个富有成效的研究团体。因此，本申请请求支持两项科学研究， 仪器，可以进一步扩大许多VA研究人员的影响和创新。 我们正在寻求支持的第一个仪器是实时PCR机器，以取代老化，过时的 目前使用的技术。这种设备可以评估特定的遗传变异的成本- 有效的方式。除了分析遗传信息的能力，我们也越来越多地使用这种方法， 机器来确定基因表达水平。由于这台机器将取代过时的设备（不再 由制造商支持），它将无缝地融入我们现有的工作流程。 我们正在寻求支持的第二个仪器是一个自动化液体处理系统， 我们现有的Illumina阵列阅读器系统。这项技术可以经济地检查基因， 表观遗传学和基因表达的差异在整个基因组。这种“组学”分析水平是 这是对上述个性化方法的补充。我们使用Illumina微阵列 多年来，我们已经确定液体处理步骤是我们 吞吐量获得这个Tecan系统将消除我们保持这一工作流程能力的一个关键瓶颈 高效移动。由于该液体处理系统将集成到现有的工作流程中，因此我们有 专业知识和需要使用这些设备。 获得这种新设备将使我们能够补充VA范围内百万退伍军人的努力 项目（MVP）。也就是说，MVP依赖于CPRS中的临床数据，而PVAMC基因组学实验室允许 检查来自那些参加过对照研究的人的样本中的同种遗传变异， 审判通过利用当地对照研究的大量MVP观察数据，我们增加了我们的 成功识别遗传靶点的机会，最终将为我们的疾病提供更好的治疗方法。 老兵将受益于拟议设备的研究的例子包括Tracie Shea博士的研究 创伤后应激障碍的研究，普里马克博士对自杀的研究，菲利普博士对精神病理学神经基础的研究， Wu对卫生服务利用率的研究，以及许多其他小用户调查的关键条件 退伍军人健康。

The responsibility of the Department of Veteran Affairs is to provide excellent medical care to those who have served their country in the Armed Services. The Office of Research and Development within the Department of Veteran Affairs is concerned with improving medical care of Veterans through better understanding of the basic components of disease, the clinical manifestations of conditions requiring medical treatment, the understanding and improvement of health service delivery, and the science of rehabilitation. This application requests support for shared instrumentation that provides critical infrastructure to researchers seeking to improve Veteran health through each of those mechanisms. The research community at the Providence VA Medical Center has a long history of excellence in each of these domains. From the biological bases of cardiovascular disease, to the careful characterization of psychopathology, to the Center of Innovation for Long Term Services, to the outstanding Rehabilitation work for mental and physical disorders the Providence VAMC has been enormously productive in the area of Veteran-centric medical research. Consistent with this history of excellence is the requirement for cutting edge research infrastructure to serve this productive research community. Accordingly, this application requests support for two pieces of scientific instrumentation that may further extend the impact and innovation of numerous VA researchers. The first instrument that we are seeking support for is a real-time PCR machine to replace aging, outdated technology currently in use. This equipment allows for the assessment of specific genetic variation in a cost- effective manner. In addition to the ability to assay genetic information, increasingly we are also using this machine to determine levels of gene expression. As this machine will replace obsolete equipment (no longer supported by the manufacturer), it will fit seamlessly into our existing workflows. The second instrument that we are seeking support for is an automated liquid handling system to integrate into our existing Illumina array reader system. This technology allows the economical examination of genetic, epigenetic and gene expression differences across the entire genome. This “omic” level of analysis is complimentary to the individualized approach described above. As our work using the Illumina micorarrays has increased over the years we have identified the liquid handling steps as the limiting factor in our throughput. Obtaining this Tecan system will remove a critical bottleneck in our ability to keep this workflow moving efficiently. As this liquid handling system will be integrated into an existing workflow, we have the expertise and need to utilize this equipment. Obtaining this new equipment would position us to complement efforts of the VA-wide Million Veteran Project (MVP). That is, the MVP relies on the clinical data in CPRS, whereas the PVAMC genomics lab allows examination of the same kind of genetic variation in samples from those who have participated in controlled trials. By leveraging the massive MVP observational data with local controlled studies we increase our chances of successfully identifying genetic targets that will eventually point to improved therapeutics for our Veterans. Examples of studies that will benefit from the proposed equipment include Dr. Tracie Shea's studies of PTSD, Dr. Primack's studies of suicidality, Dr. Phillip's study of the neural bases of psychopathology, Dr. Wu's study of health service utilization, and numerous other minor users investigating conditions critical for Veteran health.