Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC)

Howard Kipen, MD, MPH – Core Director
Daniel Wartenberg, PhD – Core Director

Established in 2006, the IHSFC serves to coordinate translational research of Center investigators interested in studies involving human subjects or populations. Investigators are directed to one or more of the Core’s senior leaders based on their research objectives and are provided consultative expertise and resources related to experimental design, statistical power, and human subject safety and consent issues. Investigators are then directed to the appropriate Center investigator(s) and/or Facility Cores for further assistance with subject recruitment, controlled exposures, experimental exposures, collection of new or access to existing samples, sample preparation and storage, assays to be performed, data storage, safety, and analysis. These functions will be coordinated through the Center’s web based Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

The LIMS consists of a $1.2 million enterprise server, which the CEED members accesses through a cooperative agreement with the Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository, directed by J. Tischfield, and an EOHSI-funded web interface maintained by the IHSFC. The LIMS plays three important functions: 1) provides a centralized listing of services and pricing information, including levels of subsidization for CEED members; 2) integrates research across Facility and Disease Cores  by coordinating Core use, sample tracking and storage, and analysis and dissemination of data by the IHSFC; 3) tracks Facility Core utilization, providing real time information that can be used for Core reorganization and to accommodate new technologies, new opportunities and changes in research directions. The IHSFC also provides guidance on the selection and/or development of appropriate animal models for integrative studies.

LIMS Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC)