The Case for Cores

A well-informed portfolio of Cores provides the Institution and each investigator with a strategic advantage.

• Cores provide investigators with fair-priced, easy access to the services, instrumentation, and expertise needed.
• Fair-priced Cores best enable continued productivity by an investigator when she/he are in a “funding gap”.
• Cores provide the Institution with the ability to provide a sustainable research infrastructure.
• Duplicative technologies are obviously a clear waste of financial resources, but underutilization carries its own cost.
• A well-informed portfolio of Cores enables the Institution to ensure instrumentation and services are kept current and meet the needs of its investigators.

Every recruitment is an opportunity to provide new or improved technologies and services that will benefit the entire research community.

• Many departments in the School of Medicine provide start-up money for recruits specifically earmarked for use at the Cores.
• Grant and contract dollars go further with Cores.
• There are Institutional opportunities to obtain funds for current investigators to use the Cores:
  • PI’s can apply for internal funding with the University’s ICTR.
  • Cancer Center investigators’ cost to the use the Cores is reduced by direct support from UMGCCC.
  • All School of Medicine investigators are provided with Pre-Award biostatistical services at no-cost to them.

You can help to maintain our Research Core infrastructure.

• All recruits should receive a tour of the Cores.
  • Visiting recruits can request additional time with relevant Core directors.
• Contact Nick Ambulos or Tom McHugh to schedule a tour for your visiting recruit.
  
  
• Instrumentation requested by the recruited are shared with the CIBR and the Dean’s Office of Research Affairs (ORA) to best avoid investments in technologies that already exist at the Cores and to identify opportunities to introduce new or improved technologies at the Cores.
  
  
• Contact CIBR and ORA are contacted when existing faculty request the purchase of an instrument costing more than $200,000.
  • While there will be instances when the Core is not the correct fit for a new instrument or highly specialized staff hire, it is always the Institution’s intention to improve the research infrastructure for all investigators as often as possible.