The goal of the currently funded Developmental Center on Injury Mechanisms and Related Responses (CIMRR) is to increase understanding of injury mechanisms and related responses by incorporating biological techniques and measures into nursing studies and interdisciplinary investigations. The CIMRR has three aims:
Aim 1 : To expand the capabilities of the College of Nursing Biological Laboratories in order to support continued studies on injury mechanisms and related responses relevant to health problems and to nursing.
Aim 2 : To facilitate collaborations among investigators in the College of Nursing and in other disciplines who share research interests in injury mechanisms and related responses.
Aim 3 : To increase the number of nursing and interdisciplinary studies that use state-of the-science methods for investigating injury mechanisms and related responses. The rapidly expanding field of genetics has great potential for increasing our understanding of injury mechanisms and responses to injury. Development of a genomics focus is a logical and important extension of the CIMRR. The purpose of this competitive continuation application is to continue to expand and strengthen the CIMRR by establishing a formal mechanism to support work on injury mechanisms and related responses involving genetics and gene function. New sub-objectives that will extend the CIMRR Aims are: Sub-Objective 1. To establish a multi-user genomics facility to support research and sample preparation for studies related to: a) genomics (analysis of DNA), b) functional genomics (analysis of mRNA), and c) proteomics (analysis of proteins). (Extends ClMRR Aim 1) Sub-Objective 2. To provide activities that: a) educate researchers on genomics-related subjects and techniques, and b) promote interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration on genomics. (Extends CIMRR Aim 2) Sub-Objective 3. To continue to offer financial mechanisms of support for feasibility studies on injury mechanisms and related responses with special attention given to proposed work that involves genomics, functional genomics and proteomics. (Extends CIMRR Aim 3) Attainment of the sub-objectives for CIMRR to support genomics will advance knowledge about injury mechanisms and related responses, continue to promote and strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations, and position us for a subsequent application for core center status.