Division of Construction and Instruments

ORIP’s Division of Construction and Instruments (DCI) supports research infrastructure in three areas: the S10 Instrumentation Programs (acquisition of state-of-the-art research instruments), the S15 Equipment Program (acquisition of modern research or auxiliary equipment to enhance operations of shared-use biomedical research facilities, formerly under the R24 activity code), and Extramural Construction Programs (construction and modernization of research facilities).

For more information on the S10 and S15 programs, view DCI's fact sheets:

C06 Extramural Construction Programs

S10 Instrumentation Programs

S15 Equipment Program

DCI Funding Opportunities

DCI Awards

New S10 Publications

DCI News and Research Highlights

Aging Healthier and Living Longer: ORIP’s S10 Programs Helped Advance Multiomics Research on Aging

Aging is a complex, natural process and is the single largest risk factor for nearly all chronic diseases. Beyond observing more wrinkles and grey hairs, or checking bone density and elevated low-density lipoprotein, are there more reliable, comprehensive, and systematic measurements to detect normal aging from diseased aging?

UM Biospecimen Facility. Photo courtesy of UM.

University of Miami Biospecimen Repository: Transforming Precision Medicine Research

The John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine (MSOM) has transformed its biomedical research infrastructure with a state-of-the-art Biospecimen Facility (Figure 1) capable of storing more than 5 million specimens, substantially expanding its clinical and translational research infrastructure.

An illustration of three glowing, capsule-shaped microscopic devices floating in a dark blue environment. Each capsule contains intricate internal structures and emits bright beams of light, giving the impression of motion through a fluid-like space.

Micron-Scale Bioglass Confirmed with S10-Supported Optical Tweezers for Biomedical Research

Biologically based glass (i.e., bioglass) has a longstanding history in health applications. Synthetic bioglass was developed in the late 1960s and has since been used in many ways.¹ This silica-based, biodegradable material is less likely to be rejected by the body than many other materials used for medical implants.

Dr. Eric A. Hoffman (right), Advanced Pulmonary Physiomic Imaging Laboratory (APPIL) Director, and Dr. Jessica C. Sieren (left), APPIL Deputy Director.

Seeing the Invisible: Detecting Early Lung Diseases with Advanced Computed Tomographic Imaging

For decades, physicians have relied on spirometry to detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the global metrics derived from spirometry (a noninvasive breathing test) cannot sense regional lung damage in early disease.

NMR of bacterial extracellular vesicles reveals pH-driven conformational change of the Salmonella surface protein PagC.

Structural Studies In Situ Show How Bacteria Infect Humans, Leading to Chronic Diseases

Understanding the biological mechanisms that support human health and drive disease is essential for developing preventive and curative therapeutics. Direct structural analyses of proteins in their native environment are even more important.

Germ-free breeding cages in a gnotobiotic mouse facility.

NIH-Funded Gnotobiotic Facility Advances Microbiome Research in Chronic Liver Diseases and Obese Conditions at the University of California, San Diego

Many areas of biological research—including immunology, metabolic disorders, neurology, infectious disease, cancer, and translational microbiome research—require a well-controlled environment to study the role of the microbiome and host–microbe interactions.

S10 Mass Spectrometers Accelerate Collaborations on Aging and Women’s Health Research

Scientific and health innovations rely on continuous access to cutting-edge technology and instruments. Dr. Birgit Schilling, Professor, Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and Director of the Proteomics Core and Mass Spectrometry Center, knows this better than most.

Architecture and antigenicity of the PRD-0038 S trimer

ORIP-Funded Instrumentation Supports Structural Studies for Next-Generation Pan-Sarbecovirus Vaccines

In the past 20 years, two sarbecoviruses—SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2—have caused major disease outbreaks in humans.

S10 Instrument Contributed to the Development of Patented Silent MRI Technique for Functional Neuroimaging

The relationship between behavior and brain-wide activity is difficult to study in animal models.

See More News and Research Highlights

New S10 Publications

This list of recent publications is sourced from PubMed and has been curated. For an exhaustive list please visit PubMed.

Author List	Title	Journal Title	Publication Date
Zishan Wang,Delowar Hossain,Judy Jiaru Wang,Varun R Subramaniam,Bin Zhang,Minghui Wang,Kuan-Lin…	Allele specific expression in Alzheimer's disease	Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association	2026-06-11
Jiani Wu,Kumiko Oishi,Anja Soldan,Corinne Pettigrew,Zixuan Lin,Yuxin Zhu,Dengrong Jiang,Xin Li…	Five-year change in brain metabolism across the spectrum of cognitive impairment in older adults: a quantitative MRI study	Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association	2026-06-10
Lei Fan,Yunyi Sun,Dandan Liu,W Hudson Robb,Kimberly R Pechman,Niranjana Shashikumar,Yukti Vyas…	High-fat diet is associated with accelerated gray matter atrophy in cognitively unimpaired older adults but slower atrophy in individuals with existing mild cognitive impairment	Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association	2026-06-10
Robert Morey,Francesca Soncin,Sampada Kallol,Nirvay Sah,Zoe Manalo,Tony Anh Bui,Jaroslav Slamecka…	Single-cell transcriptomics reveals differences between chorionic and basal plate cytotrophoblasts and 2D-cultured trophoblast stem cells	Communications biology	2026-06-10
James M Joers,Yaqiao Wei,Dinesh K Deelchand,Adam Berrington,Young Woo Park,Guita Banan,Michal…	Neurochemical Endpoints to Inform Early-Stage Trials of Spinocerebellar Ataxia 2 and 3 in a Multisite Setting	Annals of clinical and translational neurology	2026-06-09