"Core Support for Hearing Research"

描述（由申请人提供）：三个研究核心建议，以促进跨学科研究听力和耳聋在马萨诸塞州眼耳医院。该研究中心由23名研究人员组成，均隶属于伊顿-皮博迪实验室（EPL）。他们包括临床医生和基础科学家，与哈佛医学院和麻省理工学院的研究生课程和部门有学术联系。研究基地涵盖了广泛的基础和应用研究项目，从外周力学到皮层处理，从体外系统到人类患者，从动物模型到神经网络。EPL研究小组在设备，资源和科学专业知识的共享基础上，通过80年代和90年代的项目资助支持的研究核心系统，以及过去4年的P30，进行了富有成效的合作。每个核心都支持经验丰富的人员1）员工，库存，维护和升级现有的共享研究设施; 2）培训用户和/或在这些设施中提供专家技术服务; 3）提供必要的技术专业知识，以提高研究生产力，并促进研究中心所代表的许多学科的不同研究方法的融合。三个核心和每个核心的主要目标包括：1）工程核心，设计，建造，编程和维护数据采集系统，定制声学设备和刺激生成系统，并提供精密加工服务，为各种研究应用构建定制机械设备; 2）成像核心，以支持中心研究者对数字图像采集和分析的需求，包括共聚焦显微镜、透射电子显微镜、计算机辅助解剖重建，形态测量、三维重建/渲染和功能成像数据分析的自动化;以及3）组织学/外科核心，以维持现有的共享设施，并协助研究团队进行动物外科手术和光学和电子显微镜的组织学准备;以及 核心中心管理 项目总监：Charles Liberman博士

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Three Research Cores are proposed to facilitate interdisciplinary research into hearing and deafness at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. The Research Center comprises 23 investigators, all affiliated with the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory (EPL). They include clinicians and basic scientists, with academic ties to graduate programs and departments at Harvard Medical School and MIT. The Research Base covers a wide range of basic and applied research projects from peripheral mechanics to cortical processing, from in vitro systems to human patients, from animal models to neural nets. The EPL research group has a long history of fruitful collaboration based on sharing of equipment, resources and scientific expertise via a system of research cores supported by a program project grant in the 80's and 90's, and by this P30 for the last 4 years. Each of the Cores supports highly experienced personnel to 1) staff, stock, maintain and upgrade existing shared research facilities; 2) train users and/or render expert technical services in these facilities; and 3) provide the necessary technical expertise to enhance research productivity and facilitate the fusion of different research approaches across the many disciplines represented in the Research Center. The three Cores and the major aims of each include 1) an Engineering Core to design, build, program and maintain data-acquisition systems, custom acoustical devices, and stimulus generation systems, and to provide a precision machining service to build custom mechanical devices for a wide variety of research applications; 2) an Imaging Core to support the needs of Center investigators for digital image-acquisition and analysis, including confocal microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, computer-aided anatomical reconstruction, automation of morphometry, 3-D reconstruction/rendering, and analysis of functional imaging data; and 3) a Histology/Surgery Core to maintain existing shared facilities and assist research teams in animal surgery and histological preparation for both light and electron microscopy; and Core Center Administration Program Director: Charles Liberman, Ph.D.