Coordinating Center for Beta Cell Biology Consortium

描述（由申请人提供）： 本申请是对NOT-DK-04-501的回应，也是对范德比尔特大学继续担任Beta细胞生物学联盟（BCBC）协调中心（CC）的信函RFA，BCBC是自2001年9月以来一直存在的团队科学倡议。根据RFA DK-01-014的定义，BCBC的使命是促进跨学科方法，以促进我们对胰岛发育和功能的理解，长期目标是开发基于细胞的胰岛素输送疗法。在BCBC的第二阶段，其目标已由RFA DK-04-017和DK-04-018以及给范德比尔特的RFA函确定，BCBC将开展各种由制药商发起的研究，同时也将重点放在试剂生成活动上。因此，为了使这个科学家团队能够产生新的抗体和转基因小鼠，同时也保持对科学需求的关注，这些科学需求是确定如何开发基于细胞的胰岛素递送疗法的核心，CC在过去两年中已经开发出来。CC现在完全有能力为BCBC所涵盖的各种科学活动提供财务，组织和信息支持。CC的主要目标是：1）通过组织会议和务虚会，分发公告，并维护一个网站与重要的研究资源的数据库，促进互动和沟通; 2）通过丰富现有的核心设施和开发新的核心支持BCBC内的研究; 3）通过试点和可行性（P&F）资助计划启动年轻研究人员的新研究; 4）通过建立合作桥梁项目计划，将BCBC内不同的科学家群体聚集在一起。预计通过新的和现有的计划和活动的结合，CC将继续激励参与的科学家开发新的试剂和策略，作为β细胞生物学领域进一步发现和进展的平台。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is a response to NOT-DK-04-501 and a letter RFA for Vanderbilt University to continue to serve as the Coordinating Center (CC) for the Beta Cell Biology Consortium (BCBC), a team science initiative that has been in existence since September 2001. The mission of the BCBC, as defined by RFA DK-01-014, is to facilitate interdisciplinary approaches that will advance our understanding of pancreatic islet development and function with the long-term goal of developing a cell-based therapy for insulin delivery. In the second phase of the BCBC, whose objectives have been defined by RFAs DK-04-017 and DK-04-018 as well as the letter RFA to Vanderbilt, the BCBC will undertake a variety of investigator-initiated studies while also placing a major emphasis on reagent-generating activities. Thus, for this team of scientists to be able to generate new antibodies and genetically modified mice, while also maintaining focus on the scientific needs that lie at the heart of determining how to develop a cell-based therapy for insulin delivery, a CC has been developed over the past two years. The CC is now fully positioned to provide financial, organizational, and informatic support for the wide variety of scientific activities that will be encompassed by the BCBC. The primary objectives of the CC are to 1) facilitate interactions and communication by organizing meetings and retreats, distributing announcements, and maintaining a website with databases of vital research resources; 2) support research within the BCBC by enriching existing core facilities and developing new cores; 3) to jumpstart new research by young investigators through a Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) Grant Program; and 4) to bring different groups of scientists together within the BCBC by establishing a Program of Collaborative Bridging Projects. It is expected that, through a combination of both new and currently existing programs and activities, the CC will continue to stimulate participating scientists to develop new reagents and strategies that will serve as a platform for further discovery and progress within the beta cell biology field.