Coordinating and Bioinformatics Unit for the MMPC/DiaComp

Over the last 15 years, our group has successfully managed the coordinating and bioinformatics unit (CBU) for two NIDDK funded consortia, the Diabetic Complications Consortium (DiaComp 2001-present, formerly the Animal Models of Diabetic Complications Consortium) and the Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Centers (MMPC, 2006-present). DiaComp provides an environment to foster communications and collaborations between investigator communities involved in diabetic complications research. Toward this goal, DiaComp sponsors annual meetings in complications-relevant scientific areas, solicits and funds pilot projects in high impact areas of complications research, and supports a website to serve the diabetic complications community. During the current five year funding cycle, the CBU was responsible for continuing support for DiaComp through the use of opportunity pools (funding), manage/maintain the website and phenotyping data and administratively organize the meetings and workshops sponsored by the DiaComp to engage the greater diabetic complications scientific community. In contrast, the MMPCs are charged with providing the scientific community with standardized, high quality metabolic and physiologic phenotyping services for the mouse. The MMPC provides state-of-the-art technologies to investigators for a fee, with their services including characterization of mouse metabolism, blood composition (including hormones), energy balance, eating and exercise, organ function and morphology, physiology and histology. Over the last ten years the two consortia have been managed by one CBU because of the NIH decision to integrate the activities of the two consortia during their second funding cycles. Our laboratory has been the CBU for both DiaComp (last 15 years) and the MMPC (last 10 years). The CBU is responsible for creating and maintaining the administrative, scientific and informatics infrastructure necessary to organize and facilitate their operations. The goal of this proposal is to provide that infrastructure. We will build upon the success of the current DiaComp/MMPC CBU infrastructure to provide both DiaComp and MMPC with a robust and comprehensive service oriented solution that supports both the common and unique aspects of each.