Research leaders from the eight universities across Georgia have signed an agreement providing access to core facilities and equipment for scientists across the institutions, according to an Emory University press release.

The agreement, called the Memorandum of Understanding, means the identified resources will be available to scientists at all eight institutions, which make up the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), at the same rates and terms offered to internal facility users. The partnership aims to maximize collaborative opportunities and research support services for the universities while minimizing the duplication of resources.

“One of the key aims of the Georgia Research Alliance has always been to unite our research universities across the state in increasing biomedical innovation and economic development for the benefit of all Georgia citizens,” GRA President C. Michael Cassidy said. “Sharing these core research facilities, which often include expensive equipment and specially trained personnel, is an ideal opportunity to enhance team science while increasing research efficiency and saving time and money.”

According to the release, the GRA includes Augusta University, Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Mercer University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the University of Georgia.

The core research facilities at the eight institutions are expansive, including immunotherapy and immune monitoring, chemical and biomolecular analysis, genomics, cancer tissue and pathology, cellular and brain imaging, molecular modeling and drug design, DNA sequencing, neuroscience (behavioral studies), nanotechnology, biostatistics, high-performance computing, clinical trials and several more.

The partnership developed as an expansion of a similar agreement that already existed between Emory and the University of Georgia.

“Emory University and the University of Georgia have had a reciprocal agreement for core facilities for the past two years,” Michael Zwick, Ph.D., assistant vice president for research in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, said. “This partnership has worked so effectively, we decided to expand this strategy to include all the research universities across the state. We are very enthusiastic about the prospects for a highly successful partnership through our core facilities.”