Research Capacity Core

Florida Agricultural And Mechanical Univ, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

RCC Summary: The long-term goal of the Research Capacity Core (RCC) is to support, strengthen, and expand biomedical and behavioral research projects at Florida A&M University (FAMU). Over the past three decades, tremendous success has been achieved by FAMU RCMI Center through the active support of the research infrastructure (RIC) component of the RCMI Program. FAMU researchers have relied on the RIC services by using key instrumental analysis and research personnel to gather data used to write NIH proposals, develop funded projects, publish in refereed and indexed scientific journals, and successfully train graduate students. There is a critical need to invigorate these strategies in order to continue strengthening the campus biomedical and behavioral research activities, especially under the current rapid technological advancements. The focus of the FAMU RCMI U54 RCC will be on promoting innovative technologies that support the proposed RCMI research projects, pilot projects, and other FAMU biomedical and behavioral research initiatives that address health disparities experienced by racial and ethnic minorities, the rural and urban poor, and other medically underserved populations. The RCC will provide state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary facilities, including the following technologies A) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Analysis Facility, B) Molecular Modeling Facility, C) High Throughput Screening and Drug Design (HTS-DD) Facility D) Multi-Omics Resource (MOR) Facility (E) Proteomics and Cytokine (PC) Facility F) Flow Cytometry/Imaging (FI) Facility and G) Artificial Intelligence (AI), Bioinformatics and Statistics (ABS) Data Management Facility. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be woven through all cores, applying the massive biological and public health data now available to propel predictive drug discovery, and expedite new discoveries in biomedical and behavioral research. The formation of an RCMI Committee is proposed that will address all pertinent AI issues: providing directives on training modules, workshops, consultations, and adopted deliberate and appropriate AI approaches. AI issues dealing with ethics, data privacy, risk management and liability concerns will be carefully considered. Similarly, the RCC will also promote leading edge scientific technology by providing workshops, seminars, and short courses in drug discovery and biotechnology research applications to enhance research proficiency. The proposed RCC is relevant to the NIH/NIMHD mission of developing the research infrastructure and training investigators to be more successful in obtaining competitive extramural support in biomedical and behavioral research that addresses minority health and health disparities.