Rutgers University Hosts New Jersey Research Cores Partnering Conference

Over 220 participants enjoyed presentations and poster sessions showcasing cutting-edge resources and facilities available to innovators at universities and companies throughout the Garden State at the New Jersey Research Cores Partnering Conference. The event was hosted by the Rutgers University Office for Research at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Auditorium. 

Rutgers houses over 40 core facilities, offering specialized laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment, unique instrumentation, and shared services, helping scientists at Rutgers and beyond break new ground. The university partners with other public universities across the state, such as Princeton University, Rowan University, and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), in providing researchers with the shared resources they need to conduct their research regardless of their affiliation. 

“The platforms of a modern research university provide critical support to our students' academic achievements and our faculty's research and scholarship,” said Michael E. Zwick, PhD, senior vice president for research, Rutgers University, and the keynote speaker of the event. “Core service platforms are diverse and may range from libraries to highly technical instruments used in the life or natural sciences. They are often capital intensive, require expertise to be used most effectively, and have the capacity for broad impact on various stakeholders.” 

Zwick added, “As a platform provider of critical core services, a research university like Rutgers University can impact students and faculty and assist alumni, entrepreneurs, and the people of New Jersey. A statewide partnership around core services with academic and state agencies, such as the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, can further expand the potential impact of these unique platforms hosted at research universities.” 

During his keynote presentation, Zwick also spoke about envisioning the research university as a platform provider and discussed how organizing core services as force multipliers could enhance research and scholarship at the university while also making a positive societal and economic impact on the innovation ecosystem of New Jersey. The keynote address ended with a thought-provoking question and answer session that continued with a core leadership roundtable discussion at the end of the day.

Other presentations throughout the day were led by companies such as Core life Analytics, Colgate, Prokaryotics, the Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship (ILSE), NanoString Technologies, Inc., Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), Metabolon, Inc., Coriell Institute for Medical Research, and Agilent Technologies Life Sciences Group. They spoke about the importance of core services, collaboration, and intuitive data collection. Other sponsors include the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Choose NJ, and the Healthcare Institute of NJ. 

Vincent Smeraglia, executive director of core services at Rutgers and host of this year’s conference, said “The New Jersey Core Services Partnering Conference successfully brought together universities, research institutions, companies, and state government colleagues to learn about the wide-ranging research cores available across the state. These core services can benefit researchers in academia, state, and federal labs, as well local Garden State companies. The unique capabilities of these service providers can help users accomplish critical research and development goals using cutting-edge instruments and accessing world-class scientific expertise.”

The day concluded with the announcement of the winners of the poster presentations in physical sciences:

• Yevgeny Raitses, PhD, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University, “Princeton Collaborative Low Temperature Plasma Research Facility”
• Sylvie Rangan, PhD, Rutgers University, “Rutgers Laboratory for Surface Modification”
• Xiaotian Wang, PhD, New Jersey Institute of Technology, “NJIT Nanofabrication Innovation Center”

Winners in the life sciences category included:

• Derrick Swinton, PhD, Kean University, “Kean Research Core Facility”
• Hyokjoon Kwon, PhD, Rutgers University, “Metabolomic Phenotyping Core Facility”
• Luke Fritzky, PhD, Rutgers University, “Cellular Imaging Core Facility”

The lead judges for the poster presentations were David Zimmerman, PhD, head of strategic partnerships at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and S. David Kimball, PhD, senior advisor for life sciences partnerships at Princeton University and former senior vice president for research at Rutgers.

The organizing committee of the New Jersey Research Cores Partnering Conference included Rutgers University, Princeton University, ILSE, and NJIT.

The inaugural New Jersey Research Cores Partnering Conference was hosted at Rutgers in 2019 and will continue to be held annually at alternating partner sites. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was hosted virtually as part of Princeton University’s Engage 2020 conference (watch recordings online).