Guidelines for Major Scientific Instrumentation Purchases

As communicated in a letter from Dean of the School of Medicine to all Chairs, Directors and Administrators on November 30, 2018:

When planning to purchase instrumentation from non-sponsored funds with a cost of $200,000 or greater you should contact Nick Ambulos, PhD or Tom McHugh, MS at the School of Medicine’s Center for Innovative Biomedical Resources (CIBR) to ensure that:

• The purchase would not result in an expensive duplication of a technology already residing in a Core.
  • The SOM will yield greater benefits by centralizing like or similar equipment that can increase capacity, keep operational costs at a minimum, and have the equipment operated by staff with considerable technical expertise.
• If the instrumentation or technology is not currently in an existing Core, then it is strongly encouraged that you consider placing the instrumentation in an existing Core.
  • The core will ensure that the primary needs of the investigator(s) are met, and at the same time provide advanced technology to other UMSOM investigators as excess capacity allows.
  • As an added benefit to providing access to other investigators on a fee-for-service basis, these revenues will help offset operational and maintenance costs, and ensure that the instrument is well maintained and utilization is accurately tracked.

Ensuring that the purchase of major, scientific instrumentation is carried out strategically will enable an expansion of the resources available to the School’s entire research community, and represents a wise approach to investing in our infrastructure.