3:34 p.m., July 2, 2009----The National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with the NIH Office of Extramural Research, will present a “Workshop on Efficient Management and Utilization of Core Facilities” on July 14-15 on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md. The workshop also will be available as a videocast online.

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Kelvin Lee, UD's Gore Professor of Chemical Engineering and director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, will speak on “cost recovery” at the event, which is free and open to the public.

The purpose of the workshop is to discuss the state of existing NIH-funded research core facilities, identify common problems encountered during their operation and use, and discuss solutions to maximize their use and efficiency. During session discussions, workshop participants will review examples of current use and will discuss ways to improve access, administrative management, training, utilization and quality assurance at core facilities.

A core facility is a centralized, shared resource that provides access to instruments; technologies; services; cellular, animal or human study support; and expert consultation to scientific investigators. NIH funds a significant number of core facilities at hundreds of institutions throughout the United States.

Anecdotal reports of overlapping cores at institutions, the impact of federal policies and questions of quality and access led NCRR to issue a Request for Information (RFI), soliciting input from the extramural research community on their concerns and experiences with research cores. As a result of this feedback, this workshop was designed to explore the issues raised by the scientific community and provide a forum for proposed improvements.

Specific areas of interest include ways to encourage optimum use of cores and ways to provide access to core facilities to investigators who currently lack that access.

The workshop will be held from 1-4:30 p.m. on July 14 and from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on July 15 in the main auditorium of the Natcher Conference Center, Building 45, NIH Campus, Bethesda, Md.

The presentations also will be available online at [http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/videocast/Core1/] for the first day, and [http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/videocast/Core2/] for the second day.

Individuals with disabilities who need sign language interpreters and/or reasonable accommodation to participate should contact Monica Barnette at (301) 650-8660 and/or the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 at least five days prior to the event.

For more information, visit [http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/Core_Facilities/].

For logistical or registration questions, contact Monica Barnette at (301) 650-8660 or [mbarnette@palladianpartners.com].

For questions about workshop content, contact Sylvia Parsons at (301) 435-0860 or [parsonss@mail.nih.gov].