Research Capacity Core

The overarching goal of the Research Capacity Core (RCC) of the Rio Grande Valley Cancer Health Disparity Research Center is to establish, maintain, and sustain a unique research infrastructure and core facilities to support and advance basic science, biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and community research at UTRGV. The prime objective of RCC is aimed at enhancing the quality, productivity, and cost-effectiveness of RCMI projects, pilot projects, and UTRGV investigators’ biomedical research outcomes by establishing shared instrumentation and structured vision. The RCC builds upon consolidation of UTRGV’s research infrastructure and development of new core facilities and faculty expert-level services to enhance the research capacity of UTRGV investigators. The RCC facilitates research facility integration, consolidation, and execution by efficient planning, coordination, and implementation of protocols. RCC will be comprised of six core instrumentation cores (cell and molecular imaging, small animal imaging, flow cytometry, genomic and proteomic, histopathology, and theranostic facilities), three faculty-level services (biostatistics, data science and informatics, and biobank resources), and other collaborating centers (example, food science and engineering, nanotechnology, applied biomechanics, and regenerative medicine). The RCC provides core management, service prioritization, and consultation services to facilitate comprehensive and specialized laboratory techniques, research design and methodologies, data acquisition and management, analytical support, statistical and artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and health informatics, biospecimens, and qualitative expertise.