Neuroendocrine Core

SUMMARY – NEUROENDOCRINE CORE The Neuroendocrine Core will allow nutrition or obesity researchers to gain easy access to cutting-edge neuroscience techniques to measure, monitor, and manipulate the neuroendocrine system in rodent models. The central nervous system governs the endocrine system in regulating energy homeostasis. Recent technical advances in neuroscience provide many opportunities for obesity and nutrition-related research, not only with respect to how the neuroendocrine system regulates energy homeostasis in the context of obesity-related metabolic diseases, but also on how nutrients or metabolic dysfunctions impact brain function. The Neuroendocrine Core aims to leverage cutting-edge neuroscience techniques to support basic and translational studies aligned with the H-NORC mission. The Neuroendocrine Core strives to provide resources and services in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner to H-NORC investigators to enhance the efficiency and productivity of obesity and nutrition-related research. We will provide an integrated facility that allows cell type-specific, region-specific, or neural circuit-specific manipulations of rodent brains. We will also provide an integrated facility that allows a comprehensive assessment of metabolic and behavioral phenotypes. These services will be centralized in the same infrastructure, where reagents, equipment, technical support, and consultation are integrated and readily available. To our knowledge, no such core facility exists in other NIH-funded NORCs to provide such specialized services in neuroscience. In response to the high demand by the H-NORC community, our Neuroendocrine Core is built upon existing resources, and will work synergistically with other cores within the H-NORC to foster interdisciplinary collaborations among molecular, cellular, and human studies in neuroendocrinology.