Supplement: Center of Research on Obesity and Cardiovascular Diseases: IDeA Core Optimization

The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence on Obesity and Cardiovascular Diseases (COCVD) is in year 8 of Phase 2 of the program. Our program has been highly successful, with over 14 graduates obtaining more than one NIH/investigator, more than 550 peer reviewed publications, and cores that are unique and have an immense positive impact across the institution. We request funds to optimize our cores are follows: (a) to extend current equipment capabilities to facilitate studies within current research projects and emerging areas of strengths, (b) to establish best practices and more effective core management, (c) to customize software for scheduling, billing, and tracking equipment use for COBRE and other institutional research cores, and (d) to purchase key reagents that extend current core capabilities. The proposed requests will not only benefit members of the COCVD, but will have institutional impact through establishing customized core billing and administrative systems, standardized fee for service structures across the institution, and through the use of a novel Good Research Practice Facility that will develop best practices within these cores as a model for core optimization across campus.