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SCHOOL OF MEDICINE — $1,300,000 ($126,209 unallocated at this time.)

Centralized Research Support Facilities are supported predominantly by user fees. The Pratt endowment subsidy keeps costs low and provides financial stability.

The Biomolecular Research and Mass Spectrometry Facility provides a wide array of highly specialized services

including protein and DNA sequencing, peptide synthesis, amino acid and carbohydrate analyses, X-ray film processing, protein chemistry and mass spectrometry. The in-house availability of these services, which require expensive, sophisticated instrumentation and operating expertise, has contributed significantly to the spectrum of ongoing investigation at the University as well as reducing research costs. The facility's 2001-2002 operating budget is approximately $1,323,292. Pratt funds ($155,107) award for 2001-2002 will subsidize user fees and allow for the development of new techniques related to the provided services.

The Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) Facility is a research support facility providing investigators with the technology to study biological processes at the single cell level as well as isolating specific cell populations for detailed investigation. The Facility also provides advanced flow cytometric analyses. Researchers from more than 20 University departments rely on this facility, and individual laboratories equipped with similar instrumentation consult with FACS Center staff on problems or receive instruction in using their equipment. As with other core facilities, the FACS Facility generates a portion of its $126,176 operating budget through user fees. Pratt support will be $15,542.

Small Animal Multimodality Imaging Core (SAMMIC) was established in 1991 to provide magnetic resonance imaging capabilities for biomedical applications. It handles samples larger than those suitable for the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility in Chemistry and smaller than the clinical facility, and thus is suitable for small animals and other research applications. A growing number of investigators in clinical departments as well as engineering and related fields are applying this technology to their research. In addition, the facility provides instruction for students, fellows and faculty in the basic theoretical and practical aspects of magnetic resonance imaging and related techniques. Pratt funds ($20,000) are awarded to subsidize the lab's operating budget ($81,575) in 2001-2002; user fees and departmental funds make up the balance.

The Tissue Culture Facility began as a Diabetes Center service, but has become an important service for the wider

medical school research community. It provides custom services as well as support services to meet the need for cell culture and growth media. The budget for the facility for 2001-2002 is projected to be $271,357, with $28,731 coming from the Pratt endowment.

Tissue Procurement Facility As the Health System becomes increasingly focused on translational research, the availability of specific human tissues for research purposes becomes increasingly important. This facility provides for protocol-driven collection of diseased and normal tissue, and the storage, culturing, analysis and distribution of these materials. The Pratt endowment provides $20,632.

Transgenic Mouse Core Facility This core facility was established in 1992 to support genetics research. The facility is equipped to produce transgenic and gene knockout mice for use in studies of normal gene function and altered gene expression as well as in developing animal models for human diseases. It is a multi-user core facility with an operating budget of $208,898 in 2001-2002 Pratt funds ($28,684) are awarded as a subsidy to enhance the availability of this important technology to investigators throughout the University.

The Centralized Electron Microscope Core facility continues to provide excellent service to a substantial number of investigators throughout the School of Medicine. It offers unique facilities that include two transmission electron microscopes, a scanning electron microscope and a confocal microscope. In addition, the Core provides expertise in the preparation of a wide variety of types of samples to be used with these microscopes. It has maintained a strong user base for over 20 years and has an excellent record of cost recovery. In year 2001-2002 this is projected to be approximately 85 percent. In addition to the Pratt contribution ($37,816) for the overall operating costs of the core, a one-time expenditure of $72,274 is provided for purchase of a new ultraviolet laser. This is an important instrumentation upgrade to a machine that is now eight years old, but with this upgrade will be perfectly functional for many additional years.

A new core facility, the Mouse Genetics Core, will be initiated. It will be directed by Marcia McDuffie, M.D.

The goal of this core is to provide expertise and facilities for the manipulation of the genetic background of mice that have been genetically engineered through the University's transgenic and knock-out mouse facility, or have been provided to University investigators from other sources. This initiative represents an expansion of an activity that has functioned for several years as a portion of an National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored program project in systemic lupus erythematosus. The Core Facility will interface closely with the Transgenic Mouse Core and the Biomolecular Resource Core. The initial establishment of this core will begin with a Pratt commitment of $50,000.