The goal of this revised PSO grant is to expand the present COBRE-funded Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC) Core facilities at the University of Louisville (UofL). We propose to broaden the scope of research that these Cores support in neural development and CNS injury, and 2) bring additional PIs into the Center both to enhance their research programs and to bring their new techniques and approaches to the COBRE PIs. We will increase the number of involved PIs from 8 to 22. The Cores will facilitate the research programs of both NIH funded and non-funded junior and more senior PIs in directions that would not be possible without the highly trained Core personnel. Each Core will be directed by a funded PI and housed in independent, dedicated laboratory space. All PIs will have access to these Cores. We will give priority access to junior and unfunded PIs. The UofL administration will make significant space and financial commitment to the COBRE/KSCIRC Core Facilities. The Cores are: A) Administration and Biostatistics, B) Surgery and Animal Care, C) Behavioral and Electrophysiological Assessment, D) Cell and Tissue Imaging and Histology, and E) Human Translational Studies.
The specific aims are: 1. Support and enhance the scope of the strong ongoing UofL NINDS and non-NINDS funded research in the areas of nervous system injury and repair, including our continuing development of innovative technology. 2. Make our technologies available to additional UofL neuroscientists working in other areas of nervous system development and repair to facilitate their individual research programs with novel approaches. 3. Facilitate the development of the research programs of junior and more senior unfunded Investigators. 4. Enhance collaborative opportunities between PIs that utilize these Core facilities.
Each year, over 10,000 people in the United States suffer a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and a recent estimate puts the number of people living with paralysis in the U.S. at 6 million. SCI continues to be a significant cause of disability and mortality. This grant proposes infrastructure that will allow insight into both mechanisms of injury and repair and novel rehabilitative strategies.
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