SCIENCE AND RESEARCH CORE

这个子项目是众多研究子项目之一

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The Science Research Core provides services and facilities to INBRE investigators and others in the following areas: DNA sequencing and analysis, gene expression, biological imaging, cell culture, and electrophysiology including oocyte expression. In some cases, the core offers training either individually or in formal courses; in other cases (e.g. DNA sequencing), the service is provided by core staff. At present, instrumentation associated with the core is housed in available spaces in several laboratory buildings. In June 2008, some of these core facilities will be consolidated on two floors of a new 15,000-square-foot laboratory building currently under construction. The goal of the Science Research Core is to maintain state-of-the-art instrumentation and material resources in each of the core areas. To achieve this goal, funding opportunities in addition to INBRE are sought to augment and extend INBRE support. In the past year, for example, external funding was received to expand the imaging core with new confocal fluorescence microscopes and to add a large number of new expressed sequence tags to an already substantial database. Microarray applications are currently funded by NSF, NIH, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. To replace an aging quantitative PCR instrument purchased with NSF funds in 2001, a new Stratagene 30005P quantitative sequence detection system was added in January 2008 through the INBRE program. The QPCR unit will be used extensively by INBRE funded junior faculty and students. Material resources including normalized cDNA libraries, library clones, and BACs are provided to researchers within the INBRE program at no charge and for a nominal fee to those outside the program. Microarrays are provided for the cost of printing. In the next year of the INBRE program, the Science Research Core will continue to provide efficient and cost-effective services to the Maine INBRE community as well as those outside the program who can benefit from its facilities and resources.