The core grant for vision research at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is the cornerstone of the ophthalmic research efforts on this campus. We have an outstanding group of investigators and have reorganized our Core Grant Modules to accommodate major shifts in the emphasis of Ophthalmic research at UIC toward the molecular areas, and to be responsive to the need of our scientists for cutting edge technology and methodology. The goal of our continuation grant is to bring about synergistic benefits for the individual researchers, stimulate collaborative research, and provide research resources in a cost-effective manner. The four proposed modules occupy 2,2720 square feet of the Lions of Illinois Eye Research Institute. The Core Grant modules and their specific aims are as follows. The Imaging and Structural Analysis Module is designed to provide facilities and the necessary technology for specimen preparation and for qualitative and quantitative analysis of confocal and digital images. The Machine Shop Module will assist our vision scientists in the design and construction of novel instruments to facilitate the various ongoing or planned studies and provide routine care and maintenance of the existing equipment. The Molecular Biology Module will provide ophthalmic researchers with access to the equipment and expertise required to incorporate molecular biological technology into their overall research schemes. The Tissue Culture and Hybridoma Module will provide the facilities, expertise and technical assistance required to propagate cell lines derive from ocular or other tissues for use in studies of the visual process and visual disorders. This module will also assist our researchers to generate, purify, and conjugate monoclonal antibodies for in vivo and in vitro studies. Our department is strongly committed to the concept that vision research is most effective when it incorporates a multi-disciplinary approach involving cross-fertilization of a variety of basic science and clinical disciplines. Our research team is made up of a large group of vision scientists with diverse background and specialties. The four modules proposed will make state-of-the-art core facilities available to our researcher, facilitating an integration of multiple approaches for research programs ranging from studies of fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms to pathogenesis of blinding eye diseases.
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