Harnessing Movement Variability to Treat and Prevent Motor Related Disorder - In the previous two COBRE Phases, we established the Center for Research in Human Movement Variability (MOVCENTR) which allowed the development of a strong critical mass of investigators and tremendous growth in terms of research infrastructure with world class facilities and resources. These significant achievements provide an ideal springboard to facilitate the goals of the Phase 3 award period and realize our vision of a COBRE that promotes innovation, technological advancement, and the recruitment, career development, and retention of multidisciplinary faculty. Our plan is to build on the strong user base from the first two phases and continue to be leaders in human movement variability research, while also expanding our reach to fully support research in a greater number of populations affected by movement disorders. To accomplish these goals, we will fully align UNO strategic research initiatives with the scientists and resources of our COBRE. Our Specific Aims are to: 1) solidify successfully established MOVCENTR research programs and infrastructure built in prior COBRE phases; and 2) implement strategies to advance MOVCENTR research excellence in human movement variability beyond COBRE funding. First, we will optimize and reorganize our cores to better serve the needs of our investigators by developing and verifying new analytical methods of human movement and improving efficiency and project management. Our Nonlinear Analysis Core will become the Quantitative Analysis Research Core expanding its scope to better serve the evolving research community. This will enable us to integrate cutting-edge analytical processes, machine learning, and other services while maintaining our core expertise and strengths. Second, considering the upcoming expansion of our facilities, we will optimize our COBRE operations to fully establish a collaborative, multidisciplinary atmosphere to address intricate issues related to human movement variability in cutting-edge laboratories. Third, we will take advantage of the significant new faculty growth and research initiatives across the university, wherein COBRE faculty hold leadership positions, to expedite recruitment, career development, and resource allocation for the COBRE's sustained growth and independent operations after NIH funding ends. Fourth, we will support a strong pilot project program to encourage innovations and mechanism-based advancements. In sum, we are extremely confident that our vision and proposed strategies will result in a solid research program that will be exceptionally strong in human movement studies enabling the development of new interventions focused on the restoration of variability for a variety of movement disorders.
