# The National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, a Community-wide Scientific Resource

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2021 · $321,367

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY AND ABSTRACT
The National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at UC San Diego is a vital and unique
NIGMS supported biomedical technology development research resource (BTRR). NCMIR is completing its 31st
and final funded year of continuous operation and is thereby ineligible for renewal under new guidelines
governing the P41 program. With this proposal, we request stabilizing support to help ease the transition of the
Center to independent sustainability and to allow for the ordered completion of the resource’s existing pool of
supported biomedical research projects. NCMIR’s mission is to advance the coordinated use of specialized
molecular probes, novel specimen preparation methods, leading-edge microscopy and imaging technologies,
and scalable computational tools to help investigators traverse difficult to navigate spatial and temporal scales,
deliver new insight into multiscale structure/function relationships, and provide a fundamental understanding of
the macromolecular mechanisms underlying many topics in health, disease, and aging. In transitioning the
resource to a self-sustaining community-wide scientific resource, we provide details of our ‘Operation and
Maintenance Plan’ to govern how the resource supports ongoing research users, prepares developed
technologies for broad dissemination, and modifies its approach to community engagement to communicate
offered technologies, services, and resources. We further establish a ‘Transition Plan’ to scale existing cost-
recovery processes and put into place new mechanisms to stabilize support for the operation of the resource,
buttressed by commitments from stakeholders within our home institution at the University of California, San
Diego and the greater La Jolla mesa. Last, we establish an ‘Evaluation Plan’ to quantify and assess resource
performance and impact on the community, putting forth both Short-term Internal Metrics, to optimize resource
utilization and make ongoing improvements, and Long-term Objective Metrics, to gauge overall impact on the
scientific community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10399337
- **Project number:** 3R24GM137200-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark H Ellisman
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $321,367
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10399337

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10399337, The National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, a Community-wide Scientific Resource (3R24GM137200-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10399337. Licensed CC0.

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