The Visual Sciences Research Center (VSRC) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) requests continuing support for a P30 Center Core Grant for Vision Research. The VSRC was founded in 1996 and has undergone tremendous growth since the first P30 grant award in 1997 and subsequent grant renewals in 2002, 2007, and 2011. The CWRU P30 Core grant has enhanced and expanded individual investigators' programs, facilitated inter-investigator and inter-departmental collaborations, and helped to recruit new investigators to the visual sciences at CWRU both internally and from outside institutions. Our VSRC now comprises of 30 PIs in 9 clinical and basic science departments that conduct innovative, impactful, and interdisciplinary research on the fundamental mechanisms in the retina as well as causes and treatment of blinding disorders including diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Fuchs's dystrophy, and glaucoma. Our current NEI grant portfolio is diverse and encompasses all major funding mechanisms. These include 15 eligible NEI R01s as well as 1 NEI R24, 1 NEI U10, 1 NEI U01, 1 NEI R21, 2 NEI K99s, 1NEI 00, 1 NEI T32, and 1 NEI F30. In addition, our VSRC investigators hold 8 R01 grants from other NIH Institutes. The VSRC is strongly supported by the CWRU School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and the CWRU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, which provide significant funds for faculty recruitment and retention, space renovations, salary support of the P30 Module Managers, and purchase of new equipment. We request support for the same 4 modules that we have during this grant cycle and that have very well served the VSRC investigators' needs: 1) Histology, Microscopy and Imaging, 2) Tissue Culture and Hybridoma, 3) Specialized Animal Resources, and 4) Molecular Biology and Genotyping. All four Modules are expected to be heavily utilized and lead to successful accomplishment of the three unifying grant's Specific Aims: 1) to enhance research and productivity of NEI R01-holding investigators by providing them with services and facilities that are too costly for an individual laboratory; 2) to increase scientific interactions among the VSRC investigators by sharing resources and expertise; 3) to bring new investigators to vision research, both young and established, internal and external.
This P30 Core Grant provides essential infrastructure and expertise for the investigators of the Visual Sciences Research Center at Case Western Reserve University who study multiple eye diseases including diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Fuchs's dystrophy, and glaucoma. Through its critical functions, this grant will continue to enhance the ability of vision researchers to decipher the mechanisms of many common binding diseases and develop new therapies for their treatments. The grant will also facilitate collaborations among vision researchers and will help bring new investigators to vision field.
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