Maximizing Resources, Strengthening Institutional Ties
Governed by federal regulation, a research core facility is expected to charge a sponsored program (SP) at a rate no greater than the aggregate costs of operation, on a fee-for-service basis to the SP. Shared Services provide administrative and compliance support to BMC and BU under a different fee model and in adherence to a different federal requirement. Cores and Shared Services are utilized by both BMC and BUMC principal investigators/program directors, avoiding institutional duplication of resources and underscoring institutional partnership.
If you do not find the service you see, it may be one of BMC's Ancillary Services. If you do not find what you are looking for, please let us know. We will find it and update our lists.
*Unless an SP arranges services with a BMC clinical core, e.g. of imaging or pathology, they are budgeted prior to proposal submission or contract negotiation and then documented and charged through the BMC electronic medical record. The only exception is a professional service that is budgeted, documented, and charged as SP effort.
What is a Core Facility?
A core facility or "core" is a specialized facility that provides services to federally sponsored programs (SPs) at the aggregate cost of delivering those services. Previously referred to as "recharge centers," cores are governed by Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements (UG).* Typically, core charges are direct costs billed to the PI/PD per SP but, under special circumstances and limitations, the U.S. allows them to be treated as indirect costs. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed agency-wide FAQs and individual NIH institutes also publish guidance.
A core may also provide services to non-federal SPs, BMC departments and academic partners, and external entities.
*Please see 45 CFR 75.468.I.2.ll for hospital services for Health and Human Services awards and 2 CFR 200.468, for university services.
What is a Shared Service?
A BMC/BUMC "Shared Service" provides administrative and/or compliance support, eg, the Clinical Trial Office and the Institutional Review Board. Unlike cores, invoicing occurs not by fee-for-service but follows legal agreement and applicable federal requirements.
Investigational Review Board
The Institutional Review Board is the oversight committee for protection of research participants at BMC and BUMC. The Integrated Network for Subject Protection in Research (INSPIR:II) is its electronic system.
Clinical Trial Office
The Clinical Trial Office oversees billing and some finance requirements of sponsored programs involving one or more prospective clinical services and serves as signatory official on BMC industry-sponsored clinical trials.
Clinical Data Warehouse for Research (CDW-R)
The Clinical Data Warehouse for Research (CDW-R) extracts data from the BMC Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other health system-related data streams to facilitate research activities and analyses. CDW-R data extraction services include providing simple count data to estimate cohort size for feasibility analysis and/or grant preparation; generating recruitment lists to facilitate prospective recruitment; identifying retrospective study cohorts; and providing research data sets, including de-identified data sets, limited data sets, and identifiable data sets for both retrospective and prospective research studies.
Requesting a research data extraction involves a multi-step process, including IRB approval/determination and submission of a research data request form. The CDW-R provides free consultations to assist researchers in completing the request process. Reach out to cdw@bmc.org to schedule a consultation.
Clinical Research Resources Office
The Clinical Research Resources Office provides educational resources and other support, with a focus on Good Clinical Practices in managing a clinical trial.
Collaborative Research Laboratory
The Collaborative Research Laboratory (CoRe) provides human and animal tissue processing, histology services, special stains, and immunohistochemistry.
ClinicalTrials.gov support
This section provides guidance and tips on things like registering a study for the NCT#, updating existing records, posting results and/or documents, changing study contacts, verifying the record, transferring a record to another institution, etc.
Integrated Biomedical Imaging Services
Integrated Biomedical Imaging Services (IBIS) is a set of optical microscopy cores for use by BMC, BUMC, and external researchers.
Office of Human Research Affairs
The Office of Human Research Affairs provides oversight and support of research participants through its Human Research Protection Program, which includes the IRB, CRRO, and clinicaltrials.gov support and quality assurance and auditing activities.
Laboratory and Biorepository Research Services
The Laboratory and Biorepository Research Services (LABS) Core, hosted by BMC's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Science, provides a central process for meeting research service requests and now oversees the COVID-19 Biorepository and the Biospecimen Archive Research Core (BARC).
Institutional Biosafety Committee
The Institutional Biosafety Committee supports BMC and BU in its oversight of research involving synthetic nucleic acid and recombinant DNA research the use of biohazardous materials.
IACUC and Related Core Services
IACUC, along with the Institutional Biosafety Committee, provides oversight of pre-clinical research and is itself supported by its science center core.
Data and Methods Core
The Data and Methods Core (DMC) is dedicated to enhancing clinical and translational research by providing methodological expertise and analytical services throughout the research project lifecycle, ensuring robust support for investigators. We do this by providing expert consultation and grant planning support, data management, and statistical analysis.
DMC services are accessible to all research staff at BUMC, including BMC and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Special emphasis is placed on supporting early-to-mid career clinical investigators, fostering their development and success in research. Learn more