Facilities & Resources
Graduate student and faculty researchers in the college can take advantage of our assets for data collection.
Behavioral Research Core Laboratory Heading link
The Behavioral Research Core Laboratory (fourth floor) is overseen by the Associate Dean for Research. It is designed to support behavioral (descriptive and intervention) and survey research. It has a research participant waiting room, a private, fully stocked physical examination room, a group intervention or focus group meeting room and spaces for research assistant data collection, and management and group meeting space. Multiple project directors may be housed in this core laboratory to allow for collaboration and consultation among investigators regarding subject recruitment, retention, data collection and management.
Patient Exam Rooms Heading link
Currently there is one fully equipped private patient exam room located on the fourth floor and five fully equipped partitioned exam rooms on the second floor. The rooms are equipped with a refrigerator, exam table, phlebotomy equipment, sink, weight scales and centrifuge. In addition, there are two small waiting rooms, in which patients can complete questionnaires (in small enclosed cubicles).
Biobehavioral Research Core Laboratory Heading link
The Biobehavioral Research Core Laboratory allows for biological measurement of human function and is currently being overseen by the Associate Dean for Research. The Human Performance and Respiratory Function Laboratory (approximately 2,000 sq. ft.) is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for conducting pulmonary function tests, exercise tests and measures of body composition. Pulmonary function testing equipment includes multiple spirometers, a body plethysmograph, a diffusion capacity system, a single breath nitrogen washout system, a blood gas analyzer and a co-oximeter. The laboratory is fully equipped with transducers, signal processing instruments, recorders, custom manufactured instruments and software for measuring respiratory muscle strength and endurance. Exercise testing equipment includes an electronically braked cycle ergometer, a Quinton Q55 treadmill, multiple pulse oximeters, two 12 lead electrocardiographs, a Paramed automatic blood pressure monitor and two Sensor Medics metabolic carts. The laboratory is equipped to measure isokinetic strength with a Cybex 340 isokinetic dynamometer and to measure body composition with Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis system (RJL Systems) and a Hologic QDR 4500 dual energy x-ray absorptiometry instrument. The laboratory is equipped with four Philips Alice NightOne home testing devices compatible with Somnolyzer scoring software. The devices use the same sensors recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for in-lab sleep studies. The device has three sensors (effort belt, cannula and oximeter) and a built-in body position sensor that provide seven channels of data (body position, pressure flow, snore, respiratory effort, SpO2, pleth and pulse rate). Alice NightOne provides the data necessary to differentiate between obstructive, central and positional sleep apnea.
Biological Research Core Laboratory Heading link
The Biological Research Core Laboratory provides assay support for investigators across studies measuring a variety of serum and tissue-based biomarkers, hormones or other physiologic proteins/ions. A variety of equipment is available for preparing serum and plasma samples. Other equipment available includes a DCA 2000+ Analyzer for determining HbA1c levels, Packard Gamma counter, SpectraMax 190 microtiter plate reader (protein determination) and dedicated Dell computer, two Baker cell culture/biosafety hoods, an IEC Centra CL3R centrifuge (refrigerated, medium range, with swinging bucket rotor and carriers [16mm and 13mm]), Fisher Flammable storage refrigerator, Eppendorf multichannel pipette, and Eppendorf 200ul pipette, as well as equipment for performing Western Blot and RT-PCR analysis.. The general core facility (approximately 800 sq. ft.) includes a walk-in refrigeration unit, -80 C freezer, gamma counter and ultracentrifuge.
The Office of Research Facilitation Heading link
Our college’s Office of Research Facilitation offers a wide array of services to support faculty and student research endeavors. The ORF team provides assistance with proposal and budget development; coordinates and sponsors monthly educational sessions related to grantsmanship; provides administrative assistance for mock reviews and think tanks for grant proposals; offers consultation on design, methods, power calculations and analysis; and more.