North Dakota INBRE

BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH CORE FACILITY

Introduction:

The Behavioral Research Core Facility (BRCF) is a new core facility developed during the current ND INBRE funding period (Year 14). The facility is located within the Center for Biomedical Research and houses various types of behavioral assessment tools for ND INBRE partner investigators to utilize in their research. BRCF is jointly managed by the ND INBRE and the Department of pathology at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences under the direction of Dr. Kumi Nagamoto-Combs.

BRCF Mission Statement:

The mission of the BRCF is to enhance research productivity, research funding, and STEM training for the partners of the ND INBRE.

Specific Goals

1. To provide a well-managed and maintained equipment resource that supports current and planned behavioral research of the ND INBRE partners that employ mouse models of human disease.

2. To provide technical expertise in behavioral research methods and procedures to enhance current and planned behavioral research efforts of the ND INBRE partners that employ mouse models of human disease.

3. To provide a facility for the training of the next generation of health professionals in the method and theory of animal behavioral research and its translation to human disease.

4. To provide an interface for effective interaction and collaboration between and among research supported by the IDeA programs (INBRE, COBRE, EPSCoR, etc) and other investigator-initiated research programs that employ, or could employ, animal behavior in their programs.

Management:

Dr. Kumi Nagamota-Combs is the Director of the Behavioral Core. The operation of the Behavioral Core has an oversight committee composed of the Behavioral Core Director, the Chair of the Department of pathology, the Principal Investigator of the ND INBRE, the Chair of the IACUC, and the Director of the SMHS Animal Facility. This committee will also make suggestions for improvements, investments and mitigate user concerns. The core facility will initially provide behavioral services only for mice. Consistent with the mission of the ND INBRE, the Behavioral Core would be available, within limitations of sound animal practices, to all ND INBRE partners in North Dakota.

Animal Welfare

The BRCF is part of the Center for Biomedical Research, and the facility infrastructure and welfare of the experimental animals are supervised by Dr. Darin Meulebroeck, the Attending Veterinarian at Division of Research. BRCF complies with the UND IACUC and strives to meet the strict standards of AAALAC International.

User Agreement

Those using the Behavioral Core must agree to acknowledge ND INBRE support.

"Research reported in this [publication, release] was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20GM103442."