This application is for funding to complete equipping a molecular biology core facility on the campus of the College of Medicine (COM) at the University of California, Irvine. Equipment previously purchased using NIH/NSF funds include a peptide synthesizer, a protein/peptide sequencer and an amino acid analyzer. Funding is requested for a DNA synthesizer, an HPLC, a FPLC and a lyophilizer/evaporator. For the purposes of this project, the COM has dedicated 1,000 square feet of renovated laboratory space and small equipment (e.g., balances, microfuges, water baths, freezers). Thirteen basic science and clinical departments have committed a minimum of two years salary support for a Ph.D. biochemist or molecular biologist facility director and a full-time technician. Funding for salaries and equipment maintenance in subsequent years will come from user fees and an endowment from the COM. The COM has no central facility for synthesis and analysis of proteins and nucleic acids. The proposed facility will service twenty-one named, NIH-funded investigators in the COM and at least forty additional researchers in the COM and the general scientific community at UCI.
