Women & Infants Hospital is an important regional hospital with established excellence in clinical and translational research. Women & Infants Hospital Administration recognized that in addition to clinical excellence, a commitment to basic and translational science was required to enhance the Hospital?s research enterprise. The Kilguss Research Institute was built with funding from Institutional commitments, philanthropy and a Health Resources Services Administration award. The COBRE support for the last 10 years allowed remarkable enhancement of research in the Kilguss Research Institute, with a focus on developmental biology and reproductive diseases. The Research Core brought contemporary imaging, molecular biology, histology, flow cytometry, cell sorting, and real-time gene expression to Target Investigators in a previously largely clinical environment. Based on the success of Phase I & Phase II, the goals of this COBRE Phase III are to complete the establishment of a nationally recognized Center for Perinatal Biology at Women & Infants Hospital, and to transition to a self-supported, sustainable Center in five years. The Research Core will cooperate with the Pilot Projects and Administrative Core to advance towards this target. During Phase III, the Research Core will develop a sustainable facility at the Kilguss Research Institute that will provide advanced imaging and molecular biology capabilities to researchers at the Center for Perinatal Biology, the Kilguss Research Institute, and outside users. We propose the following interrelated specific aims to achieve our goals:
Specific Aim 1. Provide cutting edge technologies and training to promote innovative research amongst our users. We will develop and upgrade our specialized microscope facility, to build on our strengths and provide new imaging modalities.
Specific Aim 2. Grow our user base by means of the Pilot program in Perinatal Biology and by providing new, in-demand technologies that are not currently available to the Rhode Island biomedical community. We will collaborate closely with other IDeA facilities to promote cross -utilization of resources and encourage outside users.
Specific Aim 3. Implement a fee-for-service structure to generate income for the Core which, together with a strong Institutional commitment and endowment support, will lead to a self-sustaining Center by year 5.
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