The future of scientific research—centralized expertise and specialization through full-service core facilities

Research is undergoing a paradigm shift. High-impact discoveries frequently require multidisciplinary approaches and are increasing in technological complexity. The days in which a single trainee can master all of the knowledge and technical skills necessary to complete a project by themselves are passing. In this evolving landscape, scientific cores-centralized facilities that provide advanced technologies and expert guidance-are becoming indispensable to the research pipeline. In this editorial, we suggest how core facilities in academic centers can evolve to meet these changes in research expectations by acting as full-service facilities, or like academic contract research organizations. In this new model, full-service cores will offer comprehensive project support, including the execution of the experiment. This paradigm shift will speed discovery, but requires modifications to existing research culture, including changing lab and project management approaches, increased recognition of the role of core directors and revised training expectations. Investigators and trainees will be expected to master narrow analytical but broad conceptual domains, while scientific cores will provide the technical and multidisciplinary expertise required to generate complex datasets. Revising the existing model will also require significant financial investment from host institutions and funding agencies. While initially challenging to implement, we predict that early adopters of this new model will be at the forefront of scientific discovery.