Project Summary (2009-2014)

The Analytical Core is comprised of two research support activities; chemistry and biostatistics. The goals of the Core are to provide technical expertise, a support staff, and research tools necessary to make quantitative assessments of the chemicals that are being studied in this project, and to evaluate the exposures and risks associated with these chemicals. The Chemistry component of the Core uses an existing infrastructure of instrumentation and technical support associated with Brown University's Environmental Chemistry Facility to provide a managed set of laboratories and analytical facilities that are shared among all the research projects to detect and quantify organic and inorganic compounds that are considered hazardous to human health. The Biostatistical component provides statistical methodology and computational support for experimental design and data analysis for the research projects. The expertise from the two components is also integrated to ensure comprehensive analysis of the chemicals and their health risks. The Analytical Core has five main objectives:

1. Provide centralized facilities for the analysis of organic and inorganic compounds, and for biostatistical analysis;
2. Provide a Leader who will be responsible for the management of the chemistry component of the Core and a Leader who will be responsible for the biostatistical capabilities;
3. Provide the knowledge base and personnel to support investigators in the development of appropriate and innovative techniques to satisfy their specific analytical chemistry and biostatistical goals;
4. Provide expendable supplies, equipment parts, and the computational capabilities to maintain a state-of-the-art facility; and
5. Provide training for students, technicians, and researchers using core facilities.