The overall mission of the UCSD/UCLA DRC centers on supporting research in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications to ultimately improve the lives of patients. For the past 17 years, our DRC has been unique in linking together the diabetes/metabolism research activities of two major universities within the UC system and their affiliated institutions in Southern California. This effort has fostered new collaborations and interactions between outstanding scientists within and across these institutions. Our research base is comprised of the following focus areas: Nuclear Receptors, Cell Signaling, Metabolism, Diabetes Complications, and Islet/Beta Cell Biology. Each of these areas has outstanding leaders who facilitate interactions and sharing of resources. The DRC has played an important role in promoting the careers of young scientists as they move on to the status of independent investigators by awarding pilot and feasibility grants. As an acknowledgement of our success in this effort, UCSD and UCLA have agreed to provide over $100,000/year in additional unrestricted funds to augment our P&F program. The DRC will continue to advance scientific and intellectual interactions by organizing and facilitating meetings, lectures, and mentoring efforts that are part of our Enrichment Program. We will further accelerate diabetes research at the DRC Institutions by providing state-of-the-art services through five cutting edge cores: A) The Transgenic and Knockout Mouse Core, B) Metabolic and Molecular Physiology Core, C) Epigenetics and Genomics Core, D) Human Genetics Core, and E) Targeted Pathway Analysis Core. All of our research cores have been updated with new services and latest technologies in the upcoming project period to reflect the needs of our faculty, and the many advances in this field as they relate to diabetes and metabolism research. Our efforts to support the cores and facilitate collaboration have been successful, as can be judged by the numerous collaborative publications in high impact journals and the substantial peer review grant support our faculty have accrued. The current competitive renewal application includes many new scientific and technological advancements, including the incorporation of novel genomic, proteomic, and metabolomics services that are now available to our members in a streamlined and seamless fashion. Our future plans include the continued seamless integration of research at all participating institutions to enhance technology and research capability within the DRC, to promote the careers of promising young investigators through our successful P&F Program, and to accelerate translational research activity and collaborations through interactions with the CTSA programs at both institutions.
The UCSD/UCLA DRC will enhance research into the etiology, pathophysiology, treatment, and prevention of diabetes and its complications through facilitation of scientific exchange, and advancement of the outstanding scientific faculty comprising our research base, by providing access to novel biomedical research cores and promoting the careers of young scientists. This will ultimately improve the lives of patients with diabetes, who will benefit from the advancements the center will generate.
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