F.A.Q.'s
How much does my project cost? How much should I budget?
The cost of a project varies depending on its scope and complexity. In general, there are three main cost categories:
1. Personnel Time: The DDRC staff typically work closely with students, postdocs, or principal investigators, and this collaborative effort can cost many thousands of dollars per project.
2.Reagents: For drug discovery projects, such as high-throughput screening (HTS), budgeting between $10,000 and $60,000 for compounds and reagents is typical.
3.Instrument Time: Instrument usage typically costs between $1,000 and $5,000 per project.
Costs can increase significantly with larger compound screens. The DDRC staff can collaborate with principal investigators to develop customized budgets in incremental steps, accommodating projects of any size.
Do I need to be working on a drug discovery project to use the center?
No, you do not need to be involved in a drug discovery project to utilize the center. While drug discovery often focuses on measuring biomolecular interactions and developing bioassays to improve throughput and reduce costs, our facility is open to a wide range of scientific disciplines. We welcome clients from various branches of biological and chemical sciences and encourage investigators to reach out. Many of the techniques and resources we offer can be applied to diverse research areas, and we are open to collaborations across multiple fields.
We have a measurement we’d like to make. Can you do it for us?
Generally, no. As an academic training facility, we operate in partnership with research labs. Our model involves students or postdocs from the principal investigator’s lab working alongside our staff as a team. The goal is to leverage our infrastructure and expertise to accomplish research objectives while providing valuable training opportunities. We do not function as a service provider, but rather as a collaborative resource to support both the research and educational missions of the lab.
Do you work with institutions outside of Rockefeller University ?
Yes, we can work with outside institutions on a case-by-case basis. While our primary focus is on supporting research within Rockefeller University, we are open to collaborating with external institutions when capacity allows. Such collaborations typically require the development of a collaboration agreement and other legal documentation before any work can begin.
Can you support us in writing grants?
Yes, to a limited extent. While our primary focus is on supporting existing clients, we can provide letters of support and descriptions of our facilities for well-developed project proposals. However, co-writing grants or participating as a co-principal investigator requires significant time and interest from the center’s director, who may not have the capacity to participate.
Can you provide medicinal chemistry support for hits coming out of screening?
Yes, but to a limited extent. Those familiar with drug discovery know that optimizing a compound from a screening hit requires significant financial investment. We can assist by performing a process called Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) by inventory, where we search databases for commercially available analogs of the compounds identified in high-throughput screening and test them for potency and selectivity. While we are happy to guide investigators through this process, we do not have the resources to take hit lists further into medicinal chemistry optimization. The principal investigator (PI) is responsible for securing the necessary resources and collaborations to advance compounds into drug development.