Acquisition of a capillary DNA sequencer for The New York Botanical Garden

在肯尼斯·卡梅伦博士的指导下，纽约植物园获得了一笔赠款，用于部分支持购买毛细DNA测序仪，该仪器将安装在纽约植物园新的辉瑞植物研究实验室内。这台机器将用于收集数据，预计将通过该设施的科学家、学生和来自美国和海外的游客。纽约植物园在植物和真菌分子生物学研究领域处于世界领先地位，其刘易斯·B·卡尔曼和多萝西·卡尔曼分子系统学研究项目自1994年创建以来，已培训了来自不少于30个国家的100多名来访科学家、博士后、研究生和本科生。它的大部分研究涉及用于系统发育重建的基因测序，用于植物鉴定的DNA条形码，以及用于解决遗传多样性和植物保护问题的分子指纹。大多数参与研究项目的研究人员还监督来访的科学家、博士后和/或参与各自研究项目的学生。除了毛细DNA测序仪，辉瑞植物研究实验室还将容纳花园研究生项目，该项目目前包括来自美国和海外的约36名博士生。人数最多的人来自拉丁美洲，那里的许多以前的毕业生现在担任地区大学和政府机构的领导职位。因此，除了研究之外，植物研究实验室，特别是纽约植物园的分子项目，对于它们在开发世界各地生物科学中的人力资源方面的作用也是至关重要的。花园的所有学生都认识到，需要有分子技术的经验，才能在未来的教育机会和/或教学和研究职业中具有竞争力，因此，几乎每一位在花园注册的博士生都会在学习期间通过分子实验室接受适当的培训。最后，如前所述，纽约植物园已被公认为世界上少数几个高级科学家和来自国外的学生都可以接受最现代分子生物多样性研究技术培训的机构之一。对所有这些科学家来说，获得最先进的DNA测序设备将是无价的。

A grant has been awarded to the New York Botanical Garden under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Cameron for partial support of the purchase of a capillary DNA sequencer to be housed within the Garden's new Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory. The machine will be used for data collection by the scientists, students, and visitors from the USA and abroad who are expected to pass through the facility. The New York Botanical Garden is a world leader in the field of plant and fungal molecular biology research, and its Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics Studies has trained more than 100 visiting scientists, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students from no fewer than 30 countries since it was created in 1994. Most of its research is concerned with gene sequencing for phylogeny reconstruction, DNA barcoding for plant identification, and molecular fingerprinting for addressing questions of genetic diversity and plant conservation.Most of the investigators involved with research projects also supervise visiting scientists, postdocs, and/or students who are participants in their respective research projects. In addition to housing the capillary DNA sequencer, the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory will also house the Garden's Graduate Studies Program, which now includes approximately 36 Ph.D. candidates from the USA and abroad. The greatest number comes from Latin America, where many former graduates now hold leadership positions in area universities and government organizations. Thus, in addition to research, the Plant Research Laboratory and especially the molecular programs at The New York Botanical Garden are also critical for their role in developing human resources in the biological sciences worldwide. All of the Garden's students recognize the need for experience with molecular techniques in order for them to be competitive for future educational opportunities and/or careers in teaching and research, and for this reason, nearly every doctoral student enrolled at the Garden passes through the molecular laboratory at one point or another during their studies to receive appropriate training. Finally, as stated earlier, The New York Botanical Garden has become recognized as one of few institutions in the world where both senior scientists as well as students from abroad can come to be trained in the most modern techniques of molecular biodiversity studies. Access to the most state-of-the art DNA sequencing equipment will be invaluable to all of these scientists.