The NCI Office of the Director has established several laboratories on the NCI-Frederick campus to provide NCI investigators access to leading-edge technologies and specialized expertise. The Research Technology Program (RTP: http://web.ncifcrf.gov/rtp/default.asp) includes a tightly integrated spectrum of capability for a truly effective approach to the study of complex biological problems. The primary role of the scientist in the RTP is to contribute significantly to collaborative research projects with NCI scientists by effectively applying their areas of technology to important scientific questions. Scientists in the program network effectively with the global or extramural scientific community in their field in order to access technological approaches and instrumentation that is not available within the IRP. The Office of Science and Technology Partnerships is available to facilitate collaborative interactions with these laboratories.

The RTP includes a supercomputing facility for bioinformatics and other IT support (the Advanced Biomedical Computing Center, ABCC), a genome analysis and expression microarray laboratory, an imaging laboratory for studies on the localization of macromolecules in cells and tissues and the dynamics of their translocation, and a laboratory for high throughput expression of genes and purification of proteins for functional or structural studies and the development of affinity reagents against these expressed proteins. Complementing these laboratories is a Protein Chemistry Laboratory focused on methodologies for protein sequence determination, studies of protein-protein and protein-ligand interaction, and the development of assays for HTP-screening of chemical libraries.

The goal of this Technology Center is to develop and introduce cutting-edge technologies and make them accessible to trans-disciplinary scientists. This program strives to accelerate the pace at which discoveries are made, novel methods for early diagnosis are created, therapeutic and prophylactic interventions are developed, and partnerships are formed to accelerate delivery to the patient. Basic, clinical, and epidemiologic investigations are being driven by a rapidly evolving revolution in new instrumentation and molecular processes of ever-increasing sensitivity. The broader accessibility of these sophisticated technologies is integral to current basic and clinical research.