CORE CENTER FOR VISION RESEARCH

描述（由申请人提供）：继续寻求密歇根大学视觉研究核心中心的支持。需要支助五个单元：（1）电子和计算机单元，用于设计和建造电子设备，并协助研究计算机及其与实验室仪器的接口，由一名电子工程师担任工作人员;（2）功能评估单元，用于对活体动物的眼结构进行成像，并对眼功能进行评估，由一名技术员担任工作人员; 3）仪器车间模块，用于设计和构造定制机械仪器以及修改或修理现有仪器，由仪器制造商配备人员; 4）分子生物学模块，用于提供对分子生物学所必需的仪器和服务的访问以及对微阵列和生物信息学数据的分析的帮助，由技术人员和统计遗传学家组成;和5）形态学和成像模块，用于提供对最先进的设备和专家人员的访问，以处理眼组织、显微镜（光、宽场荧光和共聚焦）和图像分析，由技术人员组成。密歇根大学视觉研究核心中心的具体目标是改善视觉科学家的研究环境，促进视觉系统及其疾病的合作研究，并扩大该校园的视觉研究，使非视觉科学家的技能和观点对视觉系统的研究问题产生影响。24名参与研究者目前持有13项NEI R 01赠款以及6项其他NEI研究赠款。这些研究人员的研究兴趣是多样化的，包括电生理学，神经生物学，生物化学，分子生物学，分子遗传学，发育生物学，生物统计学，免疫学和临床眼科学。核心中心位于W.K.凯洛格眼科中心，30万平方米英尺建筑群包含专用于每个模块的空间，以及用于基础和临床研究的最先进设施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Continued support is sought for the Core Center for Vision Research at the University of Michigan. Support for five modules is requested: 1) an Electronics and Computer Module for designing and constructing electronic equipment and providing assistance with research computers and their interfaces with laboratory instruments, staffed by an electronics engineer; 2) a Functional Assessment Module for the imaging of ocular structures and the evaluation of ocular function in living animals, staffed by a technician; 3) an Instrument Shop Module, for designing and constructing custom mechanical instrumentation and modifying or repairing existing instrumentation, staffed by an instrument maker; 4) a Molecular Biology Module for providing access to instrumentation and services necessary for molecular biology as well as assistance with the analysis of microarray and bioinformatics data, staffed by a technician and a statistical geneticist; and 5) a Morphology and Imaging Module for providing access to state-of-the-art equipment and expert personnel for the processing of ocular tissues, microscopy (light, wide-field fluorescence, and confocal), and image analysis, staffed by a technician. The specific aims of the Core Center for Vision Research at the University of Michigan are to enhance the research environment for vision scientists, facilitate collaborative studies of the visual system and its diseases, and expand vision research on this campus to bring the skills and perspectives of non-vision scientists to bear on research issues of the visual system. The 24 participating investigators currently hold 13 NEI R01 grants as well as 6 other NEI research grants. The research interests of these investigators are diverse and include electrophysiology, neurobiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular genetics, developmental biology, biostatistics, immunology, and clinical ophthalmology. The Core Center is housed within the W.K. Kellogg Eye center, a 300,000 sq. ft. building complex containing space dedicated to each of the modules, plus state-of-the-art facilities for basic and clinical research.