A team of NRI vision researchers headed by Don Anderson and Linc Johnson was recently awarded a grant from the National Eye Institute for the establishment of core facilities for genomic and proteomic studies. The award funded the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment for automated genomic analyses by quantitative PCR and by DNA array screening, as well as for automated two-dimensional protein separations and peptide analyses by mass spectroscopy. Technical support personnel for the facilities are also provided.

Coupled with existing expertise and instrumentation in biological imaging and processing within the NRI, the genomics and proteomics modules will provide for multifaceted approaches to vision research at the cellular and molecular levels and enable the application of advanced genomic and proteomic technologies to the projects of NEI-funded PIs and other qualified researchers.