Description: (Applicant's Description) The VCC Molecular Methods Shared Resource will be a new shared resource. The goal is to centralize efforts to develop and extend expertise in cell and molecular techniques and thereby enhance the research power of VCC investigators. A major goal will be to explore and take full advantage of the capabilities of several new instruments available to VCC investigators as they are relevant to the programmatic research, and to help design and implement new approaches toward current research goals. In planning this core, VCC investigators identified priority areas for techniques development that are needed to circumvent the current rate-limiting steps in experimental design and/or data collection. These include: 1. ectopic gene expression, 2. quantitative analysis of gene expression and 3. analysis of protein and gene expression in animal and human tissue samples. A major function of this core will be in methods and assay development. The goal is to consolidate resources needed to develop and extend techniques for analyzing levels and consequences of changes in gene expression. In doing so, this new core facility can significantly enhance the research potential of VCC investigators.