MRI/RUI: Acquisition of Instrumentation for DNA/RNA Preparation and Analysis for Research at the Cellular and Molecular Level

在珍妮特·柯克利博士的指导下，诺克斯学院获得了一笔赠款，用于购买实时热循环仪和荧光仪。该设备将使诺克斯学院的教职员工和学生能够进行定量聚合酶链式反应(QPCR)。这项技术有着广泛的应用，进入QPCR将促进本科生的研究、教育和培训。由于QPCR的简单和快速，学生们将能够回答更复杂的问题，旨在了解细胞如何在分子水平上发挥作用。这台设备将取代旧的、更耗时的方法，并提供新的研究能力。本科生研究人员和他们的教师将使用这台设备：1)研究温度如何调节巨噬细胞的激活，从而促进炎症；2)研究蛋白质交叉素在非洲爪蛙发育中的作用；3)解决细菌GRPE蛋白的结构-功能关系。学生将在正在进行的研究项目中使用这种设备。其他技术可以使用热循环仪的实时能力来开发，诺克斯的教职员工和学生将被鼓励将这种多功能设备的使用纳入他们的研究计划。这种设备将极大地促进诺克斯学院的本科生研究和教育。它将允许学生探索细胞中的复杂分子事件，从而更好地理解维持生命所必需的分子过程。学生在QPCR中获得技能也将加强对科学职业的准备，QPCR是一种有价值的、尖端的、广泛适用的技术。

A grant has been awarded to Knox College under the direction of Dr.Janet Kirkley to acquire a real-time thermal cycler and fluorometer. Thisequipment will enable Knox College faculty and students to perform quantitativepolymerase chain reaction (QPCR). This technique has a wide variety ofapplications, and access to QPCR will enhance undergraduate research,education, and training. Because of the ease and speed of QPCR, students willbe able to answer more sophisticated questions directed at understanding howcells function at the molecular level. This equipment will replace older, moretime-intensive methods as well as provide new research capabilities.This equipment will be used by undergraduate student researchers andtheir faculty mentors to: 1) study how temperature regulates the activation ofmacrophage cells, which promote inflammation; 2) investigate the role of theprotein intersectin in the development of the frog Xenopus laevis; and, 3)address structure-function relationships in the bacterial GrpE protein.Students will use this equipment in the context of ongoing research projects.Other techniques can be developed using the real-time capability of the thermalcycler, and Knox faculty and students will be encouraged to incorporate use ofthis versatile equipment in their research programs.This equipment will substantially enhance undergraduate research andeducation at Knox College. It will allow students to explore complex molecularevents in cells, leading to a greater understanding of the molecular processesnecessary to sustain life. Preparation for careers in science will also beenhanced by students acquiring skills in QPCR, a valuable, cutting edge, widelyapplicable technique.