# Biomedical and Obesity Research Core

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN · 2020 · $850,050

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Diseases through Dietary Molecules (NPOD) at the University
of Nebraska supports nutrition and obesity research, particularly as it relates to the identification of biological
(i.e., food-borne) signals that prevent, treat, and cure obesity and obesity-related diseases. A key component to
NPOD's ability to serve its investigators is the Biomedical and Obesity Research Core (BORC), which was
established in Phase 1 with renovated space ($700,000) and new equipment worth more than $1M. BORC works
in close collaboration with NPOD's Administrative Core to provide center investigators a seamless flow of
research services to enable their research – support that has yielded 375 peer-reviewed publications and over
$96M in external funding for NPOD investigators to date. BORC oversees two laboratories (Obesity and Nutrition
Laboratory [1,976 sq. ft.] and the Animal Laboratory [606 sq. ft.]), provides access to equipment unique to core
research facilities located in Nebraska (e.g., Seahorse metabolic flux analyzer, droplet digital PCR, and Vitros
chemistry analyzer), and supports services that include consultation on experimental design, data acquisition,
large data processing, and statistical analysis. BORC works with NPOD's Administrative Core to coordinate
services provided by NPOD's biostatistics and bioinformatics coordinators and it is networked to the Holland
Computer Center, UNL's supercomputing facility, to allow for analysis and storage of large data sets. To date,
all of the center's project leaders have used the core and it has served as a useful recruitment tool to attract new
hires to the center. BORC currently has 60 registered user laboratories and overall usage has increased from
an initial 1,550 samples to more than 25,600 samples annually. BORC recovered 76 percent of costs for salaries
and supplies in its first year as a fee-for-service center. BORC's 41 workshops were attended by 598 users and
covered topics on equipment usage capabilities and orientation to biostatistics. BORC's Research Tools
Development (RTD) program has already yielded tools that have initiated collaborations with investigators at
top-tier institutions across the country and led to patent applications and research and licensing agreements.
During Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase 2 funding, BORC will continue to move
toward long-term sustainability by increasing its efforts to 1) support and adapt services to meet the scientific
needs of current investigators and facilitate recruitment of new project leaders and center members; 2) enhance
collaborative, rigorous, transparent, and cutting-edge research by using the RTD program to expand scientific
capabilities and support enhanced collaborations and establishing an archive to share spare tissues from animal
feeding studies; 3) expand Nebraska's biomedical infrastructure and workforce via new equipment, workshops,
and train...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9996751
- **Project number:** 5P20GM104320-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
- **Principal Investigator:** Yongjun Wang
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $850,050
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9996751

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9996751, Biomedical and Obesity Research Core (5P20GM104320-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9996751. Licensed CC0.

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