One of the primary goals of the Center is to support the development of Interdisciplinary
Research Programs throughout the University of Memphis and the Memphis scientific
community. The impetus behind such an approach is to leverage the Center’s resources
to increase the research and training environment of the University of Memphis. By
emphasizing interdisciplinary research, it is hoped that the Center can help to strengthen
the UM educational programs that support graduate research.
Such interdisciplinary programs provide opportunity for additional sources of funding
for research and education. Examples of sources of funding that were identified include
the Whitaker Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the NSF Integrated Graduate
Education and Research Training program. Two major areas of interdisciplinary research
have been identified: Genomics (signaling, gene expression, function), and Computation
(bioinformatics, computational chemistry, biostatistics).
The Center has vigorously supported research collaborations in these two areas throughout
the University and it is expected that the Feinstone Center for Genomic Research will
become a primary site for the development of interdisciplinary research. Furthermore,
because of the Center’s close ties to the Hartwell Center for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics
at SJCRH and the newly formed Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics at UTHSC, the
Center has become a major point of contact between these institutions and University
of Memphis research faculty.