Nearly two-thirds of the US population is either clinically overweight or obese, and almost 10% of the population has adult-onset diabetes. Louisiana is afflicted with even higher incidence, a fact that provides the public health urgency for obesity and diabetes research conducted under the auspices of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Both basic and clinical research in obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome requires genomics approaches to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie the respective pathology. The Genomics Core of the PBRC COBRE seeks to facilitate such inquiries by providing access to modern genomics technologies that are typically too expensive for most individual laboratories to procure or to maintain. Based on the scientific requirements of COBRE and PBRC investigators, the Core has focused on `Functional Genomics', with measurements of gene expression and epigenomics approaches at center stage.
The Specific Aims of the Core are (1) to make high quality and cost-effective genomics technology available to investigators, (2) to provide the bioinformatics necessary for the analytical and interpretative framework for genomics experiments, and (3) to serve as an intellectual and advisory resource and promote interactions and collaborations among investigators interested in genomics approaches. Based on a strong record of productivity in the prior two funding periods of the PBRC COBRE, the impact of the Genomics Core results from the facilitation of research progress, the removal of critical barriers, specifically in the realm of bioinformatics, and the creation of scientific synergy through interactions with the Cell Biology and Bioimaging Core, the Transgenic Core, and PBRC and COBRE investigators. Thus, the Genomics Core is a critical component to sustain the Center's basic and translational research activities, and obtain new extramural support.
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