MENTAL RETARDATION RESEARCH CENTERS Research and research training in mental retardation and related aspects of human development present unique demands in terms of facilities and resources. Recognition of these needs led, in 1963, to legislation authorizing construction grants for facilities in which biological, medical, social, and behavioral research relating to human development could be conducted to assist in finding the causes and means of prevention of mental retardation and, for finding means of ameliorating its effects. Acceptance of applications for construction grant awards under the Act authorizing the Mental Retardation Research Centers closed on July 1, 1967. During the authorized four years of the Mental Retardation Research Center Construction Grant Award Program a total of twelve centers were awarded to outstanding scientific institutions. During its construction phase this program was jointly administered by the Division of Research Facilities and Resources and The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Continuing responsibility for the research program in the centers is carried on by NICHD. The facilities constructed through the Mental Retardation Research Center Program will provide research facilities in particular environments where a cohesive program of research and research training can be accomplished. Most of the centers are large complex facilities in settings where a broad spectrum of research on mental retardation can best be carried out. A small number of specialized centers which have a concentrated scientific focus on a particular aspect of mental retardation are also supported by the program. 38-191 O- 7--23 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON The Mental Retardation Program at the University of Washington is a multidisciplinary university-wide endeavor involving the Medical School, Dental School, School of Nursing, School of Social Work, the College of Education and the Departments of Psychology and Sociology. Research in the biological sciences will include developmental biology, perinantal biology and the neurological sciences. Behavioral studies will include individual behavior under carefully controlled environmental conditions, family and peer group interactions, and applied research on testing of educational and treatment techniques. The facility will also be utilized for research on new methods and materials for the retarded. This Center will feature outpatient and residential facilities for comprehensive clinical studies of retarded children and will provide research training programs to prepare physicians and professionals in the health related disciplines for research in mental retardation and related aspects of human development. ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, YESHIVA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK This program will be a joint effort of the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry. It will concern itself with research problems involving the total human organism, the family and the community with special emphasis on factors leading to mental retardation. Studies in developmental biology will be conducted at all levels, including molecular and enzymatic studies of the organ systems. Research will also be undertaken in the behavioral and social sciences and ecology. The College of Medicine has working arrangements with the Edenwald School, a residential treatment center for retarded children, and with the New York City Hospital which will enable them to translate new research findings into patient care. Total cost of project: Date of Award: Estimated completion date: $5,124,815 CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, CINCINNATI, OHIO This Research Center will focus on biomedical research. In addition to its pediatric researches the program will include teratology and genetics, physiology, biochemistry, and clinical research. It will stress basic research and research training, and the development of diagnostic and treatment techniques. Areas of study will include malformations resulting from altered environment during the developmental period and genetic abnormalities, inborn metabolic errors, and various studies of the effects of drugs and infection on the fetus and mother. WALTER E. FERNALD STATE SCHOOL, WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS This Center is located on the grounds of an institution for the retarded and will place heavy emphasis on the retarded person as the object of study. Interchange with investigators in other fields will be encouraged, and research will focus on prevention and amelioration. Among the disciplines included in this research program are neurology, psychiatry, pediatrics, epidemiology, experimental psychology, cytogenetics and education. An unusual feature of this project is the close cooperation between the Fernald School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School. GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE This College has a long and productive history of research and training in the field of mental retardation but in a circumscribed area of the behavioral sciences. The new Center will make possible the expansion of interdisciplinary research efforts and research training for a wider range of behavioral scientists and for collaborative research with biomedical disciplines at Vanderbilt University. In the newly created Division of Human Development, the program will primarily be directed at the educational, psychological and sociological aspects of mental retardation with strong emphasis on cultural deprivation. The uniqueness of this research program lies in its relatively narrow but powerful thrust on these vital dimensions of the problem. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA The main focus of the research program in this Center will involve a combined biological and behavioral approach to the problem of mental retardation. It envisions cooperative studies among the Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Pediatrics, Biochemistry and other Divisions within the Medical School, as well as the Departments of Sociology and Psychiatry. Collaborative studies of a basic and clinical nature related to mental retardation will be undertaken. The University has also received approval for the construction of a clinical facility for training and demonstration under Part B, Title I of the P. L. 88-164. These activities will be closely coordinated with those of the research center. This Center is closely affiliated with the Harvard Medical School and proposes an interdisciplinary research program directed toward the understanding, prevention and amelioration of the handicapped and the mentally retarded. The research team will include representation from experimental neurological sciences, behavioral sciences, genetics, metabolism and clinical research. |