The mission of the Service Cores is to enhance the productivity and increase the quality of the research performed by Center Investigators. The Service Cores of this NIEHS Center are Molecular Genetics, Biomolecular Resources Facility, Synthetic Organic Chemistry and Cell Biology. The major benefits provided to Investigators by these Cores fall into five broad categories:

1. Access to advanced technologies that are beyond the reach of virtually any individual investigator's laboratory (e.g. gene chip analysis, mass spectrometry, large-scale protein production);
   

2. Access to reagents that are not commercially available (e.g. modified nucleosides, customized small molecules);
   

3. Hands-on training in specialized techniques (e.g. development of primary tissue cultures) and consultation on experimental design and interpretation of results (e.g. mass spectrometry);
   

4. Access to routine services or research materials at a reduced price or turnaround time (e.g. DNA sequencing, competent cells, cell cultures);
   

5. Enhanced efficiency and proficiency resulting from frequent performance of difficult techniques otherwise carried out only rarely in an individual laboratory (e.g. confocal microscopy).
   

Each Core is located in dedicated space provided by the School of Medicine. The services offered by the Cores build on and augment rather than duplicate services offered by other core facilities at UTMB. All four Service Cores have similar arrangements for chargeback fees. For the vast majority of services, the Center Grant supports 50% of the costs for materials and supplies used in providing the service or technical support to Center Investigators. The major exception is gene chip analysis, where the high cost only allows the Center Grant to support 1/3 of the costs. Chargeback fees do not include labor or personnel, which are funded by the Center Grant.