Administrative Core

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT - ADMINISTRATIVE CORE
The NEI funded P30 University of Michigan Vision Research Center provides priority access to resources and
services to NEI-R01 funded investigators in five areas representing critical needs that are beyond the
resources of individual laboratories. These areas include: Advanced Statistical Analysis, Instrument
Fabrication, Visual Functional Assessment, Molecular Biology Instrumentation and Stem Cell Biology Facilities,
and Morphology and Imaging. The services also help provide other researchers, especially those preparing
NEI R01 proposals, those with other NEI research awards, and those collaborating with NEI-funded
researchers to generate critical preliminary data to apply for NEI R01 awards. The Cores, with available time,
can also be used by other individuals involved in vision research or new investigators to encourage pursuit of
novel vision-related research.
The University of Michigan Vision Research Center (UMVRC) is directed by David A. Antonetti, Ph.D.,
Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Roger W. Kittendorf Research Professor of Ophthalmology
and Visual Sciences and Scientific Director of the Kellogg Eye Center. Dr. Antonetti has had continuous NEI
support for 24 years to explore the mechanisms of retinal vascular permeability in diabetic retinopathy and
other blinding eye diseases, develop novel therapies to regulate signaling pathways that control vascular
permeability and explore methods for restoration of vascular function. Dr. Antonetti has recently accepted the
role of PI and Director of the P30 Vision Research Center. As Director of the Administrative Core, Dr. Antonetti
will be responsible for ensuring that Vision Research Center activities are appropriate to the needs of vision
researchers, and that they are run efficiently and according to appropriate priorities. Dr. Antonetti will work
closely with Departmental financial officers to ensure responsible oversight of Core expenditures and budget.
Dr. Antonetti will review the Center’s website information, organize and run quarterly meetings of the UMVRC
Executive Committee to discuss Core operations and services and he will prepare, analyze, and report the
results of surveys and questionnaires designed to ensure that Core resources and services are appropriate to
the needs of vision scientists and are operated in an effective and efficient manner. Finally, Dr. Antonetti will
ensure progress reports are prepared and provided to the NIH in a timely manner. He is assisted by a
Research Program Manager and Grant Administrator in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual
Sciences.
Overall supervision of the Vision Research Center is under the direction of the PI and the UMVRC Executive
Committee, which meets quarterly. This committee consists of the PI, who serves as Chair as well as the
Scientific Director for Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and the 5 Core
Directors and 5 co-Directors. The quarterly meetings are designed to review Core activity, the overall research
environment, the quality of services and resources and degree of client satisfaction. The meetings also provide
an opportunity to address any problems and consider new opportunities of the Vision Research Center to
advance or improve services and attract new investigators and projects into vision research. In this manner the
UMVRC greatly advances the efforts of participating investigators to accomplish the mission of the NEI to
understand mechanisms of vision, explore underlying pathology of vision loss and to develop novel therapeutic
approaches to cure or prevent blinding eye disease and improve the visual health of the country.

Grant Number: 5P30EY007003-39
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: David Antonetti