? BIOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR ANALYSIS CORE The present application seeks funding to continue the MIND Institute Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) at the University of California, Davis. The IDDRC was launched in 2013 and is the newest of the 14 IDDRCs in the network. The Biological and Molecular Analysis Core (BMAC) is designed to facilitate studies at the cellular and molecular levels investigating the mechanisms by which genetic and environmental risk factors interact to influence brain and immune system development and function in the context of IDD. The BMAC will achieve this goal by addressing three specific aims.
Aim 1 is to provide cutting- edge resources and expertise for analyses in neuroimmunology, cellular and molecular imaging, and epigenomics and genomics within the context of IDD research.
This aim will be addressed through a tiered approach to services that ranges from full-service support to training of core users to enable independent use of core facilities and resources to access to core facilities and resources for individuals with a strong working knowledge of the technology of interest. The Core will also provide liaison support for researchers with our partner UC Davis cores, including the Genome Center, the Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging (CMGI), the Mouse Biology Program (MBP), and the Institute for Regenerative Cures (IRC) Stem Cell Core.
Aim 2 is to provide education and mentoring at all levels from student to staff to senior faculty in the methods and concepts of immunology, cellular and molecular imaging, and genomics and epigenomics.
This aim will be addressed by working with IDDRC investigators to plan their projects and ensure they understand the potential for addressing their aims with the full range of assays and analyses available from the Core, training IDDRC project staff and investigators in the use of selected technologies available in the Core, and offering workshops and seminars illustrating the findings that emerge from the services of the Core.
Aim 3 is to support the MIND Institute IDDRC cores and the broader IDDRC network.
This aim will be addressed by developing procedures, protocols, and data systems that are informed by, and inform, the other MIND Institute IDDRC cores, and by providing technical and intellectual expertise to support and expand the numerous biological and molecular IDD research studies within the MIND Institute IDDRC and, when appropriate, the entire IDDRC network. The constitution of the BMAC reflects the unique expertise and interdisciplinary approaches for studying IDD at the UC Davis MIND Institute IDDRC, including state-of-the-art methodology in immunology, cellular and molecular imaging, epigenomics, and gene X environmental interactions. The Director of the BMAC is Judy Van de Water, PhD.
