Acquisition of a Preparative Ultracentrifuge and Tabletop Superspeed Centrifuge for Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Research Training in Biology

为圣托马斯大学生物学院指导的本科生研究和培训采购一台预备式超速离心机和桌面超高速离心机。德克萨斯州休斯敦生物学学院77006向圣托马斯大学的Romagni博士授予了一笔赠款，用于购买一台备用型超速离心机和配套的台式超高速离心机。它包括几个必要的转子的费用，三年的服务，以及对使用设备的人员进行必要的培训。该仪器是系级研究策略的重要组成部分，填补了当前本科生物学研究计划中的一个明显空白。圣托马斯大学的本科生将在独立研究项目和课堂上使用这些设备。圣托马斯大学是一所为少数民族服务的本科生机构，女学生占多数。这些调查是教师/学生指导方法的一部分，这种方法源于生物课上的工作，和/或与不同教师的重点联系在一起的研究。这些设备还将被整合到普通生物学等入门生物学课程中，更深入地，将被整合到高年级本科课程中，如分子生物学、细胞生物学、植物生理学、植物生理生态学和生物化学。目前将利用所获得的仪器进行的教员研究包括用作河口水质指标的海洋无脊椎动物的分子生态学和种群动态。他们还将调查几种植物病媒昆虫的种群遗传学，特别是粉虱。另一个研究领域包括对烟粉虱传播的植物病毒的研究。最后，该设备将用于植物次生代谢产物的生态生理/生化研究，阐明它们的作用模式及其作为环境友好型杀虫剂的潜力。有了这些资金，目前许多需要分包非校区人员进行实验或需要教员在校外完成一些工作的项目，都将在圣托马斯大学完成。对于需要综合实验室经验作为科学教育一部分的学生来说，这显然是一个优势。资助不仅允许学生自己完成整个实验/方案，还将使他们能够为未来的生物科学工作获得宝贵的技术技能，并完成发表在同行评议期刊上的项目。最后，它将允许教员开展目前不可能进行的研究活动，因为他们的机构缺乏离心机能力。

Acquisition of a Preparative Ultracentrifuge and Tabletop Superspeed Centrifuge for Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Research and Training in BiologyUniversity of St. Thomas, Dept. of Biology, Houston, TX 77006 A grant has been awarded to Dr. Romagni at the University of St. Thomas to acquire a preparative ultracentrifuge and supporting desktop superspeed centrifuge. It includes the cost of several necessary rotors, service for three years, and required training for personnel using the equipment. This instrumentation is an important component of departmental research strategy and fills an obvious void in the current undergraduate biology research program. The equipment will by used by undergraduate students at the University of St. Thomas, an ethnic minority serving undergraduate institution with a majority of women students, in independent research projects and in the classroom. These investigations are part of a faculty/student mentoring approach that has grown out of work originating in biology classes, and/or to research that is tied to the foci of various faculty. The equipment will also be integrated into such introductory biology classes as General Biology and, more intensively, in upper division undergraduate classes, such as Molecular Ecology, Cell Biology, Plant Physiology, Plant Physiological Ecology, and Biochemistry. Current faculty research that will utilize the acquired instruments include the molecular ecology and population dynamics of marine invertebrates used as indicators of estuarine water quality. They will also investigate the population genetics of several insect vectors of plant disease, in particular, whiteflies. Another area of research includes studies of whitefly-vectored viruses of plants. Finally, the equipment will be used for the ecophysiological/biochemical studies of plant secondary metabolites, the elucidation of their modes of action and their potential as environmentally friendly pesticides. With these funds, many of the current projects that require subcontracting of non-campus personnel to run experiments or that require faculty to complete some work off-campus, will be completed at the University of St. Thomas. This is a clearly advantageous for students who require a comprehensive laboratory experience as part of their science education. Not only will funding allow students to complete entire experiments/protocols themselves, it would also enable them to gain valuable technical skills for future work in the biological sciences and complete projects for publication in peer reviewed journals. Finally it will permit faculty to undertake research activities currently not possible because of the lack of centrifuge capabilities at their institution.