The Buck Institute for Age Research is the only free-standing institute in the United States that is devoted exclusively to basic research on the biology of aging and age-related diseases. Its intensive, interdisciplinary, institution-wide approach to aging research represents a new model, distinct from the traditional university-based approach in which the study of aging is one of numerous disciplines, spread throughout an institution, and competing with other disciplines for scarce scientific resources. In the five years since the Buck Institute began operation, it has made a substantial investment in and commitment to aging research. In the process, Buck Institute investigators have made important contributions to research on the biology of aging and age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke and cancer, and the Institute has established itself as a major aging research center. We believe that the Buck Institute is ideally suited to fulfill the goal of the Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in Basic Biology of Aging program - to enhance the ability of institutions with well-developed research programs in basic research on aging to utilize state-of-the-art research resources and provide the strongest environment for the conduct of research on aging by: (a) enhancing the quality of research in the basic biology of aging (b) facilitating the planning and coordination of aging research activities (c) providing support and a suitable environment for investigators new to aging research and (d) developing potential regional or national resource centers. To achieve these objectives, we propose to establish a Shock Center at the Buck Institute with the following Cores: An Animal/Transgenics Core offering animal care and procedures and transgenic/knockout production, an Imaging Core in which existing morphology resources will be supplemented with functional imaging technology, a Genomics Core that will produce cDNA and oligo microarray chips and offer microarray analysis services, and a Proteomics Core using mass spectrometry and new chemical methods to identify posttranslational modifications and protein-protein interaction networks associated with aging and age-related diseases. Finally, a Research Development Core will foster the development of investigators and projects in aging research through postdoctoral training programs, Research Development Research Seminars, Pilot Project awards to junior investigators and investigators new to the aging field, and a Summer Scholars program for high school and college students from underrepresented minority backgrounds.
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