? This C06 Construction Grant application, submitted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), is to renovate approximately square feet of research space to create a research environment for the Center for Advanced Research in Behavioral Neurobiology (CARBN). UlC is a NIH-designated Hispanic Center of Excellence and a DHHS-designated Center of Excellence for Women's Health. The space is located in an existing facility that formerly housed the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, which was constructed in 1959 and transferred to UlC in 1997. The proposal requests funds for renovations that will bring existing laboratory facilities to current standards and build new laboratories that are designed for the testing of behavior in animals and humans. The space proposed to be renovated has not been modified or upgraded since the construction of the building. UIC has recently invested in the development of a state-of-the-art, 6300 square foot animal facility, which is adjacent to the planned renovation. Behavioral neurobiology is a vital area of biomedical research and a primary area of translational research. UIC has a rapidly expanding behavioral neurobiology research program, but does not have adequate laboratory facilities to support this growth. The organization of CARBN promotes an interactive collaborative environment in which basic neuroscience techniques can be applied to the study of behavioral and psychological processes. The goal of CARBN is to better understand the mechanisms of mental disorders by initially focusing on the neurobiology of social behavior and emotion regulation, since deficits in social behavior and emotion regulation are a core feature of several psychiatric disorders. The proposed construction will expand research in human neurobiology and encourage centralization of research expertise and shared research equipment. A particular strength of CARBN is an emphasis on conducting translational research, which will apply basic neuroscience techniques to clinical research questions and develop new biologically based assessments and treatments. CARBN will also provide a mechanism for clinical practice and research to inform behavioral neurobiology theory. Research to be conducted in CARBN will involve animal models, ranging from molecular biology to behavior, and studies with clinical and normal human populations. The remodeled space will include laboratories to house approximately 8 research teams, each representing a major emphasis of CARBN. Each team will consist of several investigators. The long-term objective is to provide the infrastructure for improving the scope and quality of behavioral neurobiology research at UIC. ? ?
