The research we are conducting through the Program Project p53 Regulators and Effectors is supported by two Cores, the Administrative Core (Core A) and Cell and Animal Model Core (Core B).
Administrative–Core A
The Administrative Core (Core A), led by Core Director Stuart A. Aaronson, MD, and Administrative Director Ed Hicks, MBA, MA, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, provides centralized services that support the principal investigator, project leaders, and core resource directors of the program project. The core is also responsible for continuity, coordination, and oversight of the projects and support cores of the program project.
The primary functions of Core A include the following:
- Provide direction and overall management of the program.
- Foster communication and integration of the research projects and the cores by conducting regular scientific meetings of program project grant investigators.
- Oversee and coordinate the efforts of the support cores through oversight committees and by monitoring efficient usage.
- Monitor and track all expenditures of the program project grant and ensure accurate allocation of funds.
- Provide logistics support for other aspects, including personnel actions, IACUC documents, record keeping, and progress reports.
- Arrange and coordinate meetings, including travel, of the program project internal and external scientific advisory boards.
These advisory groups review progress of the entire program, provide advice, and evaluate each project at least once per year. Core A will provide coordination and continuity to each of the projects and cores for the duration of the program project grant.
Cell and Animal Model–Core B
Insights gained primarily from in vitro models of p53 regulators and effectors within our research program have led to a critical need for in vivo validation and the ability to gain further understanding using in vivo models. The phenotypes that are actively being examined in the p53 paradigm are no longer simply a matter of cell death, growth arrest, or senescence. Instead, the role of p53 activation in vivo will likely have varying consequences in different cell and tissue types and will likely differ with regard to developmental stages.
The Cell and Animal Model Core (Core B), led by James Manfredi, PhD, at the Icahn School of Medicine, derives and maintains human and mouse cell lines as well as adequate stocks of early passage aliquots of frozen primary cells utilized by the projects. It serves as a repository for monoclonal antibodies and validated RNAi reagents. The core also acquires and maintains steadily used mouse models (transgenic, knockouts, etc.) and primary cells derived from these mice for distribution to the investigators in the program.
The research efforts of our productive and collaborative program greatly benefit from an in vivo models component, which maintains small breeding colonies of critically needed mouse strains for genetic and cell biologic investigations. The high cost of animal studies in barrier facilities can be reduced substantially by the availability of shared technical support for mouse breeding and genetic analyses, and for shared immunohistochemistry. The cost effectiveness is further emphasized by the shared use of the same genetically modified strains by several investigators and projects within the program. The core also provides expertise and guidance in the preparation of tissue and/or embryos for analyses of gene expression (protein and mRNA in situ).