EXPANSION AND RENOVATION OF UTMB'S GCRC - Funds are requested for expansion and renovation of the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) located in Children's Hospital of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) from its current area of 5,105 to 13,153 square feet. The GCRC was recently funded in a competitive renewal for 5 years and is currently in its 37th year of continuous NIH funding. The long term objective of this proposal is to expand patient- oriented research and clinical investigator training at UTMB and to make the GCRC the central point of focus for this programs. We propose to dramatically increase the space available for ambulatory patient-based studies. The clinical research educational program will be moved to adequate dedicated space. Core laboratory support will now be possible with space contained with the discrete GCRC. Additional space is sought to support the sleep lab and the metabolic kitchen, both of which are operating above the capacities for which they were designed. Dr. JOHN Stobo, President, has challenged UTMB to rank our programs in the top 25% nationally. Moreover, the Vice President for Research, Dorothea Wilson, has a vision of the GCRC's role to be the central resource for patient-oriented research and new investigator education. This expansion of the GCRC will help increase the amount of extramural-funded clinical research and improve the infrastructure to support increased clinical trials-both NIH-sponsored and industry-sponsored. As an institutional long-term objective, UTMB, a Hispanic Center for Excellence, is committed to innovation and excellence in research.
