MRI: Aquisition of a Molecular Ecology and Systematics Laboratory at Cincinnati Museum Center

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The ability to analyze life?s genetic code has revolutionized biology. Ecology and evolutionary biology in particular have experienced a renaissance during the past two decades due to the application of molecular genetic tools. Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) is well poised to enter the modern age of molecular-based studies in ecology and evolution. Dr. Herman Mays Jr., CMC zoology curator, will develop a working molecular genetics laboratory at CMC through a Major Research Instrumentation award from the National Science Foundation. Educators and researchers from a consortium of local institutions including public and private high schools, small colleges and universities including Xavier University and Thomas More College, and other institutions such as the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will utilize this facility at CMC in education at every level, from high school to graduate students, and use these instruments to employ molecular genetic tools in basic and applied research in ecology and evolutionary biology. Additionally, these instruments will allow a myriad of research projects to be conducted on the nearly 300,000 zoology specimens at CMC and used to educate the general public about genetics, ecology and evolution through exhibits and programming tied to the laboratory.