Research Services Core

The Center for Pediatric Research has evolved as a center that drives and supports research across all disciplines within the hospital and interacts with other core services across the state of Delaware to create a network that can support the wide range of projects needed in pediatric research. This central research services core is overseen by Dr. Mason (Program coordinator) and is divided into 9 services each headed by a director and support staff. These nine cores are supported by a combination of COBRE and institutional funding in addition to clinical fees and chargebacks from grant funded investigators. The core programs are reviewed on an annual basis, based on input from faculty and pilot investigators regarding the pros and cons of each core and customer recommendations which might improve core services. The PC plays a key role in this evaluation as the core liaison. The PC, in collaboration with the AdminCore and advisory committees, makes recommendations for changes in core procedures, expansions and equipment acquisition. The sustainability of cores is very dependent on this form of feedback and governance.

The governance and final recommendations for all cores are dependent on EAC evaluations which are done at the biannual meetings. The long term goal is to ensure sustainability of the Research Services Core beyond COBRE support, and consequently strong involvement of the IAC and institutional faculty will be critical to ensure that resources are allocated to optimize core efficiency.

Current COBRE-supported cores are: Clinical Research Services Core, Biomolecular Core, Cell Science Core, Bioinformatics Core, High-Throughput Screening Core. Additional cores are: Histotechnology Core, Imaging Core, Life Sciences Core, and the BioBank.