The MBSPFC provides laboratory space, equipment, and the technical assistance needed for small-scale pilot projects funded by the NIEHS Center Grant. The MBSPFC is not always needed for this purpose, since some projects are more efficiently and appropriately handled in the laboratories of investigators already set up for these specific studies. However, there is a clear need for a laboratory that is available specifically for NIEHS-funded pilot projects. This greatly assists epidemiologists planning studies with a laboratory component that do not fit naturally with current ongoing activities.