We are pleased to announce that the Yale Vision Core Grant from the National Institutes of Health has been renewed and is scheduled to be funded beginning this month. The Vision Core Grant will now be managed through our Department. The PI on the grant is Jonathan Demb, who will work with the three Core Module Directors: Jimmy Zhou, In-Jung Kim and David Zenisek.
The overall objective of the Yale Vision Research Core Program is to provide fundamental and innovative technologies to support and enhance vision research at Yale University. With three key resource/service Core modules, this Program will aid the ongoing research projects of vision research investigators by providing facilities and expertise that cannot be readily supported by individual research grants. This Core Program will enhance scientific interactions between current and future vision researchers at Yale and will facilitate the development of vision research programs for new investigators and for established investigators interested in entering the field of vision research.
Three Core modules will maximize impact on vision research at Yale. A Neurotechnology & Fabrication Core will assist in the design, development and construction of a wide range of custom experimental apparatus for vision research (e.g., microscopes, recording chambers, behavioral rigs). A Virus Production & Molecular Biology Core will produce high quality, high-titer adeno-associated virus (AAV) as well as custom design of DNA constructs for a wide range of applications at multiple levels of the visual system (e.g., retina, thalamus, superior colliculus, visual cortex). An Imaging Core will provide physical facilities and intellectual resources for state-of- the-art static and dynamic imaging of cells and tissues of the visual system. These three Core modules comprise a comprehensive Core Program that serves the fundamental needs of vision researchers at Yale University.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Demb for his leadership on this grant, and on thanks Drs. Zhou, Kim and Zenisek for their hard work on these important vision research cores.