The core provides five essential services for the Program: Microelectrode Fabrication Facility. We propose to consolidate and establish a state-of-the-art microelectrode fabrication facility that would be used by all investigators in the Center. The faculty of the Center posses substantial expertise in the fabrication and use of ion-selective microelectrodes and carbon fiber microelectrodes. Minimal equipment and supplies are requested, as well as a half-time technician to staff this facility to manufacture and calibrate the electrodes. Histological Facility: The Core will provide basic histological tissue sectioning and staining for all the projects. This includes frozen section, paraffin-section, and plastic sections for light microscopy and routine stains of the sections. Specialized stains, however, will be carried out by the individual projects. A half-time technician is requested for this purpose. Tissue Analysis Facility. The Core will provide atomic absorption analysis of tissue ions for all the projects. The ions that can be analyzed include Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and others if necessary. In addition, the facility will do wet weight and dry weight measurements. Administrative Core. The Core will centralize orders for supplies and equipment to save money, effort, and time of individual investigators and technicians. Funds are requested for a half-time effort by the current laboratory manager and half-time effort of an administrative secretary. External Advisory Committee. A committee of five leading scientists in the field have been formed to advise and criticize the work of the center. These include Professor Harold Kimelberg, Ph.D of the State University of New York at Albany (glial cells and head injury), Professor Kevin Strange, Ph.D. Director of Critical Care Research laboratories at Harvard University (physiology and molecular biology of osmoregulation), professor Chung Hsu, M.D., Ph.D of the Department of Neurology at Washington University at St. Louis (ischemia and pharmacology of neuroprotection), Professor Andrew Blight of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of North Carolina (spinal cord injury and morphological analysis of injured tissues, and Professor Theodore Holford, Ph.D., MPH of the Dept. of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University (statistics). In addition, individual projects have advisors and collaborators from NYU Medical Center, particularly James Salzer, M.D., Ph.D. (myelination and glial cultures) and Chiye, Ph.D. (histology and immunohistology). The External Advisory Committee will site-visit the Center once a year. Dr. Holford will be the statistical consultant for the Center.
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