Research Capacity Core

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, the FAMU Center has achieved tremendous success through the active support of the Research Infrastructure Component (RIC) of the Program. FAMU researchers have relied on the RIC services, utilizing key instrumental analysis and research personnel to gather data used in writing NIH proposals, developing funded projects, publishing in referred and indexed scientific journals, and successfully training graduate students. There is a critical need to revitalize these strategies to continue strengthening the campus’ biomedical and behavioral research activities, especially considering the current rapid technological advancements. The focus of the FAMU U54 RCC will be on promoting innovative technologies that support the proposed research projects, pilot projects, and other FAMU biomedical and behavioral research initiatives. 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 integrated throughout all aspects, leveraging the vast biological and public health data now available to drive predictive drug discovery and accelerate discoveries in biomedical and behavioral research. A proposal is made to establish a committee that will address all pertinent AI issues, providing directives on training modules, workshops, consultations, and adopting 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.