The long range goals of the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Institute of Gerontology (IoG) at the University of Michigan (UM) are to: facilitate and stimulate ongoing and new research; encourage the development of junior faculty in molecular and cellular oriented research ont he basic biology of aging; create an optimum environment for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees in terms of mentoring, tutoring, facilities, and resources; and enhance participation by underrepresented minorities in the activities of the Shock Center to enable them to engage successfully in research on the basic biology of aging. The proposed Shock Center will involve 25 scientists who are currently investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the basic biology of aging in three research themes; Musculoskeletal frailty, Signal Transduction, and Protein Integrity. Eleven of the scientists are faculty of the IoG and the others are dispersed throughout 10 departments or other units mostly in the School of Medicine. The research team of the Shock Center consists of a highly interactive group of well-funded senior and junior scientists in a wide range of basic science disciplines. Three additional faculty provide administrative support for the Research Development Core, veterinary car for the Rodent Core, and pathology of the mice in the studies of longevity. The senior scientists provide a high level of leadership to the Center in administrative, mentoring, and research skills. The scientists are investigating basic biological issues within three well-established interdisciplinary research themes (Directors are indicated in parentheses): Musculoskeletal Frailty (Faulkner), Signal Transduction (Miller), and Protein Integrity (Grafni). The Shock Center will enhance the quality of research in the basic biology of aging for both senior and junior scientists, as well trainees, in these themes by providing two programmatic cores, Leadership/Administration (Faulkner) and Research Development/Enrichment (Adelman), and four Resource Cores, Mutant and Transgenic Rodent Core (Camper), Cellular Imaging Core (Carson), Cellular and Molecular Motility Core (Faulkner), and Protein Biophysics Core (Grafni). The Shock Center at the UM will be administered by the Director (John Faulkner) and an Administrative Manager (Linda Mills) with the assistance of a Steering Committee composed mainly of the coordinators of the themes and the directors of the cores (Adelman, Carlson, Grafni, Halter, and Miller). An External Advisory Committee of five internationally renown scientists expert in the three research themes will provide an annual evaluation of all aspects of the Shock Center.
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