The Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center will focus on the newly-developing field of Geroscience and on providing investigators across the nation with unique and innovative assays that are accessible to the entire research community studying aging and Geroscience. The 5 Cores in the Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center are: Program Enhancement Core: In addition, to overseeing all the activities of the Shock Center, the Program Enhancement Core will administer two novel programs. The development of the Oklahoma Geroscience Consortium will bring together investigators interested in aging and Geroscience from the five major research institutions in Oklahoma. In addition, through a Discovery Bioinformatics Component, the Core will provide investigators in aging with unique bioinformatics tools and methods to discover new connections between their data and age-related phenomenon. Research Development Core: This Core is an innovative departure from the traditional structure of similar Cores in Nathan Shock Centers. The Research Development Core of the Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center is designed to provide unprecedented service to the scientific community at large, not just investigators at the host institution. Multiplexing Protein Quantification Core: This Core will provide investigators with a novel mass spectrometry method for measuring the abundance of proteins from any tissue/cell from any organism that has its genome sequenced. The Core can quantify panels of 25 to 30 proteins in a single run, thereby allowing investigators to interrogate pathways of importance in aging and Geroscience. By developing panels of proteins for C elegans, Drosophila, and yeast, as well as exceptionally long-lived animals, this Core will provide investigators, for the first-time, a method for measurin protein abundance in these animal models, which are important to aging. Targeted DNA Methylation & Mitochondrial Heteroplasmy Core: Using novel next-generation sequencing with unique primer sets, which are currently available only in this Core, it will be possible for investigators to study DNA methylation either genome-wide or in specific genes. In addition, the Core has developed methods that will allow investigators to conduct a comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial genome heteroplasmy (variants/mutations and deletions) and copy number from very small samples in a high throughput manner. Integrative Redox Biology Core: This Core will provide investigators with a comprehensive state-of-the-art assessment of the oxidative stress status of a cell, e.g., measures of oxidative damage and redox couples, which require major instrumentation and expertise to obtain accurate and reproducible data. In the past, the Leaders of this Core have experienced a high demand for these assays from investigators across the country.
Aging is the major risk factor for the most economically expensive diseases afflicting the world today. The Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center will focus on the newly-developing field of Geroscience with Research Cores that deliver unique, innovative services that are accessible to the entire research community studying aging and Geroscience. The Research Development Core is an innovative departure from the traditional structure of Research Development Cores in Nathan Shock centers because it is designed to provide unprecedented service to the scientific community at large, not just investigators at the host institution.
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