Biomedical Technology Research Resource (BTRR) Centers

Biomedical Technology Research Resources (BTRRs) create critical technologies, including instrumentation, methods, and software, at the forefront of their respective fields that apply to a wide variety of problems in the biomedical sciences. The BTRR program has been discontinued, and there is no active Notice of Funding Opportunity. Current BTRR Centers are listed below.

Christina Liu, Ph.D.
Program Director
Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institutes of Health
45 Center Drive MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200​

BioCARS: A Synchrotron Structural Biology Resource
University of Chicago

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM118217
Principal Investigators: Matthew Tirrell, Ph.D., Rama Ranganathan, Ph.D., J. Keith Moffat, Ph.D., and Vukica Srajer, Ph.D.
BioCARS is a state-of-the art, national user facility at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory for synchrotron-based studies of the dynamic and static properties of macromolecules. Using X-ray scattering techniques such time-resolved crystallography, small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering and fiber diffraction. BioCARS operates two X-ray beamlines, embedded in a Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) facility unique in the U.S. that permits safe studies of biohazardous materials such as human pathogens.

Center for Biomolecular NMR Data Processing and Analysis
University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Dentistry​

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM111135
Principal Investigator: Jeffrey C. Hoch, Ph.D.
The Center for Bio-NMR Data Processing and Analysis develops robust methods to facilitate discovery, dissemination, management, training, and support for the biomolecular NMR software, to enable the application of NMR to biomolecular systems, and provide software persistence that is essential for reproducible research.

Center for Open Bioimage Analysis
Broad Institute

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM135019
Principal Investigator: Anne E. Carpenter, Ph.D., Beth Cimini, Ph.D., and Kevin W. Eliceiri, Ph.D.
COBA will provide quantitative image analysis software tools that have broad applicability in biological optical microscopy. This effort will build on two widely used open source bioimage analysis programs, CellProfiler and ImageJ/FIJI, and add deep learning capability to enhance accuracy, ease-of-use, and reproducibility.

Center for Structural Dynamics in Biology
Stanford University

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM139687
Principal Investigator: Sebastien Boutet, Ph.D.
The Center for Structural Dynamics in Biology aims to develop new technologies to fully utilize the unique capabilities of the world’s first X-ray laser to understand how the molecules of life are assembled and how they move. The new technologies will provide high quality images and movies of molecules, allowing to understand molecules work with or against each other. Center scientists will work with experts in the fields of drug design and enzymology, to name a few, to design and build new capabilities that will be made available to all scientists.

Drosophila Research and Screening Center-Biomedical Technology Research Resource (DRSC-BTRR)
Harvard Medical School

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM132087
Principal Investigator: Norbert Perrimon, Ph.D.
The DRSC-BTRR helps researchers realize the full potential of Drosophila melanogaster as a model for the study of human health and disease through development of technologies and community engagement, including (1) Development of technologies for Drosophila studies, (2) Application of technologies for study of mosquito vectors of human diseases, and (3) Development of in vivo proteomics technologies for Drosophila.

MicroED Imaging Center at UCLA (MEDIC)
University of California, Los Angeles

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM136508
Principal Investigator: Tamir Gonen, Ph.D. and Pawel A. Penczek, Ph.D.
MEDIC develops technologies for the study of the structure of nanocrystalline organic molecules and macromolecules by microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED), and provides access and training in these technologies. Areas of research include the development of effective procedures for nanocrystal growth, screening and vitrification; novel phasing methods for MicroED for structure determination; effective procedures for studying natural products, small molecules and toxins; and the engineering and fabrication of new hardware for nanocrystallization and time-resolved dynamics by MicroED.

MIT/Harvard Center for Magnetic Resonance
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM132079
Principal Investigator: Robert G. Griffin, Ph.D.
The MIT-Harvard Center for Magnetic Resonance develops new instrumentation for dynamic nuclear polarization experiments at high field, solid-state MAS NMR experiments to elucidate the structure of proteins, and advancing solution NMR experiments.

National Center for Dynamic Interactome Research (NCDIR)
Rockefeller University

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM109824
Principal Investigator: Michael P. Rout, Ph.D.
NCDIR combines expertise in cell biology, genetics, mass spectrometry and computational structural biology to develop new integrated approaches for the detection, isolation and analysis of macromolecular complexes that that make up the dynamic cellular interactome.

National Center for Multiscale Modeling of Biological Systems (MMBioS)
University of Pittsburgh

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM103712
Principal Investigator: James Faeder, Ph.D.
MMBioS develops technology and tools to facilitate research and training at the interface between computing technology and the life sciences. The center also works to deepen understanding of the molecular and cellular organization and mechanisms that underlie synaptic signaling and regulation.

National Center for Quantitative Biology of Complex Systems
University of Wisconsin-Madison

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM108538
Principal Investigator: Joshua J. Coon, Ph.D.
The National Center for Quantitative Biology of Complex Systems (NCQBCS) is developing next-generation protein, metabolite, and lipid measurement technologies for a wide variety of biomedical applications and making whole omic analysis faster and broadly accessible.

National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (NMRFAM)
University of Wisconsin, Madison

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM136463
Principal Investigator: Chad M. Rienstra, Ph.D.
The National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (NMRFAM) is a state of the art NMR spectrometer facility located in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. NMRFAM equipment and resources are available to any scientist worldwide. Our experienced staff is available to train users as well as provide consultation and collaboration on experimental design, data collection, and analysis.​

National Resource for Network Biology (NRNB)
University of California, San Diego

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM103504
Principal Investigator: Trey Ideker, Ph.D.
NRNB provides a freely available, open-source suite of software technology that broadly enables network-based visualization, analysis and biomedical discovery for NIH-funded researchers.

National Resource for Translational and Developmental Proteomics
Northwestern University

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM108569
Principal Investigator: Neil L. Kelleher, Ph.D.
The National Resource for Translational and Developmental Proteomics (NRTDP) is dedicated to accelerating a significant shift in how protein molecules are analyzed by mass spectrometrywith a focus on intact protein measurements.

Proteomics Research Resource for Integrative Biology
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM103493
Principal Investigator: Richard D. Smith, Ph.D.
This resource develops and integrates new proteomic technologies for use in biomedical research, with an emphasis on high-resolution, quantitative approaches.

Resource for Native Mass Spectrometry Guided Structural Biology
Ohio State University

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM128577
Principal Investigator: Vicki H. Wysocki, Ph.D.
The Resource for Native MS-Guided Structural Biology is building an integrated MS-based workflow for intact, native complexes, i.e. “complex-down” characterization, with innovative scientific instrumentation and computational tools to reveal the complex chemical structures of biomedically relevant molecules.

Resource for Quantitative Elemental Mapping for the Life Sciences
Northwestern University

BTRR Grant Number: P41GM135018
Principal Investigator: Thomas V. O'Halloran, Ph.D. and Chris J. Jacobsen
The Resource for Elemental Imaging for Life Sciences (QE-MAP) is developing emerging technologies for quantitative evaluation of inorganic signatures in cells and tissues that are essential to understanding the regulation of physiological and pathogenic processes and developmental decisions. QE-MAP operates resources at Northwestern University, Michigan State University and the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab, offering three imaging and detection methods—laser ablation inductively coupled plasma TOF-MS, scanning x-ray fluorescence microscopy and photoacoustic microscopy—that allow investigators to quantitatively map the distribution of dozens of elements in a wide range of biological samples.​