The most compelling features of daily life include the ability to navigate through our environment and to communicate with each other. These functions are fundamental to survival, but are also among the first to encounter trouble in the diseased or aging nervous system. The University of Rochester holds a set of NIH-supported research programs dedicated to the sensory, motor, integrative, and cellular mechanisms underlying navigation and communication. Research ranges from molecular and genetic approaches to cellular neurophysiology in awake animals to human perception, and includes strong translational and clinical elements. These characteristics provide a compelling framework for our P-30, Center for Navigation and Communication Sciences (CNCS). New this past grant period, the CNCS is now operating at a steady-state that exceeds all expectations, largely due to committed leadership matched by a dedicated and engaged faculty and staff, cooperative and shared Core services, a strong advisory and quality assurance process, and an infrastructure and community that has proven attractive to new collaborations and new investigators. The CNCS allows investigators to efficiently share costly, time-consuming, essential but cumbersome, and innovative research services. The CNCS includes three Cores: 1) a Human Subjects Core to consolidate and coordinate the recruitment, screening, scheduling, and databasing of subjects across projects;2) a Research Services Core that includes a Histology &Imaging Unit (tissue preparation, image analysis &reconstruction), an Electronic/Mechanical Shop (repair and construction of lab components and devices), an Animal Research Unit (mutant and knockout preparations, husbandry and screening), and a Proteomics Unit (specialized protein analysis);and 3) a Technology and Computation Core, including a Lab Technology Unit (automated lab systems for stimulus and behavioral control, data and analysis) and a Computation Unit to support PC and network operations, software library, web support, and staff training. Some service Units share support with the Department of Neurobiology &Anatomy, the Center for Visual Science (an NEI-P30), and two program projects (an NIA-P01 and an NINDS-P01). The CNCS exploits our inherently collegiate ecology and augments our lab capabilities through outstanding Core personnel and facilities in dedicated space. All Cores and Units operate efficiently and balance the combined goals of providing both needed though sometimes-mundane services as well as novel and innovative solutions that transform into tomorrow's capabilities. This ensures high-quality, efficient, and diverse services to all, in a robust infrastructure that enriches the productivity of our research, promotes collaborations among investigators, attracts new faculty and students to our research mission, facilitates further institutional support, and ultimately contributes to the health of the community and the nation. Core B Human Subjects Core Director: Robert D. Frisina, Ph.D. Medical Director: Gary D. Paige, M.D., Ph.D. DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A variety of research projects within the Core-Center employs human subjects. The Human Subjects Core (HSC) greatly facilitates our collective research goals by centralizing a set of common procedures, operated by a seasoned staff that interacts effectively with both the subjects and with faculty, students, and laboratory staff within the research studies supported by the Core. The Core provides several key services. First, the Core coordinates recruitment and screening of human subjects across research projects (normal and patient). This includes identifying subjects and obtaining informed consent, followed by basic medical and sensorimotor/neurologic exams, as well as physiologic and cognitive screening relevant to the populations targeted by Core studies. Populations now under study include normal subjects across a broad range of ages, subjects with specific neurological disorders (e.g. inherited ataxias, Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases), and subjects with specific sensory loss (hearing, vision, vestibular), but otherwise healthy. Second, the Core coordinates scheduling and tracking across projects in order to maximize efficiency and convenience for subjects, investigators, and staff. Further, the use of common subjects across studies supplies novel and paired observations that enhance productivity and stimulate new and collaborative research. Third, the Core maintains a powerful modern database that provides protected access to data and analytic tools for investigators and staff. This central service promotes new studies while making existing ones more efficient. Fourth, Core services include the coordination of protocol approvals, staff credentialing, and record keeping required of all human studies. The above services and tasks are made exceedingly efficient by a centralized structure orchestrated by a seasoned and trained staff. The benefits unload time and effort for faculty and staff to pursue more directly relevant research goals, and simultaneously catalyze new projects and collaborations. This is apparent in the growth of human studies in the Core-Center, including those by new faculty and ongoing ones alike.
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