The VANTAGE Project

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received an $8.6 million NCRR G20 grant to create a new collaborative shared resource that will accelerate discoveries in genome science and personalized medicine. Recognizing the importance of translating advances in genome science to improved human health, VUMC has made a commitment to provide state-of-the art laboratory environments and technology through shared resource facilities.

The purpose of VANTAGE (VANderbilt Technologies for Advanced GEnomics) is to create an optimal environment conducive to collaboration and acceleration of new biological and clinical discoveries, through consolidation of multiple separate research resources into a centrally located shared resource. The renovation will impact over 900 active grants from Vanderbilt programs with major genomic components. Through complete modernization of an existing 12,505 Net Square Feet of aging laboratory space VANTAGE will create a physical home for the Flow Cytometry core and BioVU (the Vanderbilt DNA Repository), and will enable the consolidation and expansion of four existing facilities now located in three separate buildings on the Medical Center campus: Genome Sciences Resource (which consists of Microarrays, Next Generation Sequencing and Sanger Sequencing) and DNA Resources Core.

Once renovation is complete, each of these distinct research resources will share collaborative space, thereby creating an institutional nexus of discovery in genomics research by extending and strengthening already successful collaborations. VANTAGE will enable technical synergy, eliminate unnecessary duplication and accelerate discovery in clinical and basic science across the institution. Renovation is expected to begin by September 2011.

This project is supported by NIH/NCRR Grant Number G20 RR030956. Reporter article: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=8577