The AIM Center's scientific cores will serve as an intellectual and technological hub for autophagy and its intersections with inflammation and metabolism in a full spectrum of diseases. The AIM Scientific Core will ensure that our researchers are at the forefront of autophagy research will have the greatest possible impact by:

• Offering specialized scientific instrumentation/equipment to answer significant research questions related to autophagy
• Ensuring exceptional service to the research community
• Supporting mentored PIs (mPIs), junior, and senior investigators through multi-year projects and pilots
• Enhancing the research base in NM with objectives to grow into a nationally and internationally recognized Autophagy, Inflammation and Metabolism Center and Scientific Core.

The AIM Scientific Core will enable local growth in scientific resources and develop a cadre of excellent faculty while increasing research funding for our home institution as well as statewide. It will facilitate synergy and interface with existing Institutional COBREs, Cores, facilities, shared resources at our home institution, other New Mexico IDeA centers and the region. Our core facility will complement other area facilities and will provide an additional hub for new cross-¬disciplinary collaborations.

The AIM Scientific Core is open to all scientists interested in using novel instrumentation to discover mechanisms of inflammation and metabolism in health and disease with a strong focus, but not limited to, autophagy-related mechanisms.

Access to the AIM Scientific Core and instrumentation will be provided at no cost during the first year (approximately January 2018 To January 2019) for all users, including members of the AIM Center, but thereafter an associated Core fee structure (to be determined) will be imposed for all Members of AIM, our home institution users, and external-institution users.