In this proposal we request funding to create an intellectually- and technologically-advanced research environment focused on understanding the patterns and mechanisms of normal development and disease progression using a multi-scale approach-from genome to organism. Through the creation of laboratory space, we will establish the Collaborative Cluster in Genome Structure and Developmental Patterning in Health and Disease. This cluster of scientists will address the roles of genome instability and developmental deregulation from multiple perspectives and multiple scales of size and complexity. The objective is to construct a modern sustainably-designed research space contiguous with the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, thereby creating the Collaborative Cluster. This cluster will bring seven distinguished Biology faculty into integrated space, facilitating their ability to work together to address key problems in biology and medicine. In addition, these scientists will be working in the same building as Tufts'Department of Biomedical Engineering researchers involved in tissue engineering for regenerative medicine and nanobiological structures, expanding collaborative opportunities in a translational environment. The establishment of the Collaborative Cluster will allow us to accomplish the following Aims: (1) Unravel the links between gene networks and epigenetic physiological signals using molecular genetics, cell biology, and mathematical modeling, to develop groundbreaking applications in regenerative medicine and aging;(2) Accelerate interdisciplinary progress on the effects of intrinsic and environmental factors on genome structure and stability, harnessing the understanding of global-scale gene expression in development to ad- dress birth defects, human hereditary diseases, and cancer;and (3) Harness new, integrated knowledge in development, disease and regeneration by partnering with biomedical engineers to translate research results into techniques and devices to alleviate human disease and heal injury. We will create research space to establish the Collaborative Cluster through renovation of existing offices to 19,627nsf of wet laboratories and associated support spaces, serving 70 researchers. The space includes an electrophysiology suite and specialized rooms for fly, fish, and frog experimental models. We estimate the project will create 195 jobs. The Cluster has been designed to bring established and early-stage faculty within steps of one another in laboratories equipped with the necessary tools to facilitate great strides in relationships among genome structure, developmental patterning, and human health and disease.
