The mission of the Molecular Center of Health and Disease (MCHD) is to employ innovative molecular and physiological approaches to study health, onset and progression of disease, and interaction with pathogens, with the goal of understanding the breadth of information from the molecular level to the whole organism.
The MCHD is primarily funded by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA)- Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) award (1P20GM144041) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This funding provides vital resources to build new institutional infrastructure, support promising new faculty researchers through being named as a research project leader, as well as, offering an opportunity to be funded through a pilot project program.
The MCHD has a broad focus on building cutting-edge technology and big data analytics to bring a deeper understanding to the health and disease continuum. The MCHD seeks to serve as umbrella program to initiate and promote molecular approaches across basic, clinical and translational research. For example, a newly established project- Project Baby Magnolia will work to bring genomic medicine to critically ill infants and children through the application of rapid whole genome sequencing. This important program is only made possible through new and innovative omics technology (Core B) and computational biology capabilities (Core C) established and supported by the COBRE.
The MCHD seeks to accomplish a better understanding of the molecular underpinning of disease that can ultimately be translated into optimal therapeutic interventions and new treatments for people.