The Translational Hearing Center (THC) has established two functional cores: The Drug Discovery & Delivery Core (DDDC) and Auditory & Vestibular Technology Core (AVTC) to promote and enhance translational research on therapeutics for hearing loss. Currently all core facilities and equipment are located in close proximity to or within the Creighton University Core Facilities in the Criss I/II/III building complex, with additional satellite AVTCs located in neighboring institutions: University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Boys Town National Research Hospital (BTNRH). To further empower our services for the Research Project Leaders (RPLs) and Center Investigators, we plan to align our facilities with our strength by creating new laboratory spaces through renovation of existing laboratories within first year of the COBRE award. To facilitate efficient chemical synthesis and analysis and facilitate new advanced imaging, we seek to renovate medicinal chemistry laboratory Criss II 326 and a new space for auditory hearing test laboratory Criss I 304. With these renovation projects completed, THC will have new, centralized laboratories for each core. These can be easily further expanded and integrated into the Creighton University Core Facilities. These will significantly enhance our services outlined in our proposal.
