This application is for continued support of the administrative and research cores of the UCLA Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC). This IDDRC provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary research program in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Importantly, the research investigations carried out by the Center Investigators encompass 23 of the 31 IDD research priorities listed in the current P30 RFA. This Center maintains and sharpens its focus on discovering ways to prevent and treat IDD, and to improve the quality of life for intellectual and developmentally disabled individuals, by fostering research innovation into the pathophysiological mechanisms of developmental disorders in animal models and also by patient-based research through interdisciplinary interactions among investigators. Newly emerging areas of excellence at the IDDRC, which extensively combine studies of human IDD and animal models, include studies of fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, pediatric brain tumors, and pediatric epilepsy. To serve these and other areas of excellence, the cores have been reorganized to provide much greater support for translational research while expanding cutting edge technology for the basic sciences. The eight cores are: (A) Administration and Communication, (B1) Neurogenomics and Bioinformatics and (B2) Epigenetics, (C) Stem Cells, (D) Cell Biology and Cellular Imaging, (E) Animal Models, (F) Electrophysiological Assessment, and (G) Translational Core for Human Phenotyping and Imaging. These cores are strengthened by the expertise of the increased number of IDDRC faculty involved with the cores, and the increased synergy among them. The mission of the Center is to provide an environment promoting the highest level of research in IDD by providing investigators open access to cutting edge and efficient core services in the IDDRC. The Center also organizes seminars, mini-symposia, an annual retreat, and core-based workshops to foster cohesive scientific discourse and collaboration. The Center assigns high priority to the support of talented young investigators and the training of pre- and postdoctoral fellows in a variety of disciplines related to its goals. The Center's mission is facilitated by strong ties with faculty in more than ten departments and institutes at UCLA excelling in neuroscience, genetics, human and animal imaging, nanotechnology, molecular biology, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery, pathology, pharmacology, pediatrics, education, and anthropology. The Center has recently begun interactions with a new IDD program at the University of Southern California, and it has increased interactions with national and international IDD researchers to share resources and knowledge to accelerate research breakthroughs and their translation.
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