ADMINISTRATIVE CORE Principal Investigator Matthew M. LaVail, Ph.D. is an internationally known senior vision scientist who has used many different types of research approaches, including anatomical, biochemical, classical genetic, molecular genetic and electrophysiological methods, as well as animal model development and neurotrophic factor and gene therapy studies for retinal degenerative diseases. His discoveries of circadian rod outer- segment disk shedding and the pharmaceutical rescue of degenerating photoreceptors have led to the establishment of new fields of vision research. He is highly respected at UCSF and in the vision research community. Dr. LaVail has been funded continuously by the NEI for the past 35 or more years with 6 different co-operative agreements, contracts and long-running research grants, so he is fully aware of both the research needs and regulations involved with NIH grants. Also, he has been an active member of the Core Grant Core Directors' Advisory Committee (see below), serving as the Imaging Core's first Director beginning in 1998. Through his leadership and effort in designing and constructing the Core, the Imaging Core has been the most heavily used of our Cores. Dr. LaVail distinguished himself, as well, in establishing procedures that would assure equitable access to the Core, even with very high usage at several times during the year just prior to several research meetings. One year before the retirement of the former Principal Investigator, Dr. Steven Kramer, Dr. LaVail was approved by the NE I to become the new Principal Investigator of the Core Grant effective July 1, 2002. We will use this process in case a Core Director or PI moves, retires or becomes unable to carry out the duties of the position, in which case the person will be identified by the Advisory Committee (see below), and the name will be submitted to the NEI for approval.
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