MRI: Acquisition of a Shared Use Integrated Next-Generation Sequencing Platform

蒙特克莱尔州立大学（MSU）获得了一项奖励，购买下一代测序（NGS）平台（Illumina MiSeq），以扩展和更新MSU， Seton Hall大学，Passaic县社区学院和卑尔根社区学院共享使用的基因组基础设施。NGS技术已经彻底改变了生物科学，直到现在，在很大程度上，它还没有受到本科研究和教学机构的保护。收购MiSeq将立即改善所有相关机构的教学基础设施。MiSeq系统将在课堂和实地/实验室研究项目中有效地影响不同种族的学生。密歇根州立大学的学生人数正以惊人的速度增长（每年9%）。随着学生人数的增加，密歇根州立大学的研究人员数量也在增加。MiSeq将被纳入现有的生物学课程中，最终将针对处于职业生涯早期的本科生制定新的NGS选修课程。这些课程将有效地训练学生进行基于实验室的研究项目，他们将学习实验设计，有效使用NGS，分析，解释和传播科学论文格式的DNA数据集。这些课程还有一个额外的好处，那就是培训希望进入生物技术行业的学生，进一步加强经济。NGS认证研讨会将有助于促进参与者的职业发展，或使参与者在申请生物技术甚至研究生院的工作时具有优势。一年一度的NGS公开讲座将帮助教育整个社区关于NGS时代的可能性，希望能激励下一代未来的科学家。周边高中即将到来的科学家们也将通过韦斯顿学者计划（高中学生科学指导）获得灵感。MiSeq将支持所有相关机构的教师，学生和合作者正在调查的不断扩大的基于DNA的研究项目。这些项目都是跨学科的，涵盖了生物学、医学、化学和生态学的各个分支学科。在不久的将来，这些项目包括：1)研究脊椎动物功能牙齿基因的进化损失；2)确定水母等胶状动物的饮食；3)鉴定具有潜在应用于人类疾病治疗的水母毒液基因；4)进一步研究玉米这一重要农业作物的基因调控；5)研究世界范围内与两栖动物数量减少和大规模死亡事件相关的野生动物病原体的遗传变异和独特性；6)表征多种土壤类型（如有机土壤、污染土壤）中微生物的生物多样性；7)新泽西州河流大型无脊椎动物生物多样性特征；8)对造成有害藻华的微生物进行鉴定，以便更好地管理这些藻华，保护饮用水和娱乐用水；9)通过观察金属胁迫反应，进一步探索蓝藻有害藻华的致病因子；10)进一步开发并行计算软件，生成系统发育树；11)当导致淋巴丝虫病（象皮病）的寄生虫遭受应激时，确定可靶向治疗的分子变化。

An award is made to Montclair State University (MSU) to purchase a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platform (Illumina MiSeq) to expand and update the shared-use genomic infrastructure of MSU, Seton Hall University, Passaic County Community College, and Bergen Community College. NGS technologies have revolutionized the biological sciences and until now have, for the most part, been sheltered from undergraduate research and teaching institutions. Acquisition of the MiSeq will immediately improve the teaching infrastructure of all involved institutions. The MiSeq system will in effect impact ethnically diverse students both in the classroom and in field/laboratory -based research programs. The student body at MSU is growing at an astonishingly fast rate (9%/year). With this increase in student body size, the number of MSU research faculty is likewise increasing. The MiSeq will be incorporated into well-established biology classes and ultimately a new NGS elective class will be formulated targeting undergraduates early on in their careers. These classes will effectively train students in laboratory-based research projects where they will learn experimental design, effective use of NGS, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of the DNA data sets in scientific paper format. These classes will have the added benefit of training students wishing to enter into the biotechnology workforce further strengthening the economy. The NGS certification workshops will help advance the careers of participants or give attendees an advantage when applying for jobs in biotechnology or even graduate school. The annual NGS public talks will help to educate the community at large in regards to what is possible in the age of NGS hopefully inspiring the next generation of future scientists. Upcoming scientists in surrounding high schools will also gain inspiration through the Weston Scholars Program (high school student science mentoring).The MiSeq will support the ever-expanding DNA based research projects being investigated by the faculty, students, and collaborators at all involved institutions. These projects are both multi/inter-disciplinary covering various sub-disciplines within biology, medicine, chemistry, and ecology. In the immediate future, these projects include: 1) Examine the evolutionary loss of functional teeth genes across vertebrate animals; 2) Determine the diet of gelatinous animals such as jellyfish; 3) Identify jellyfish venom genes with potential applications to the treatment of human ailments; 4) Further investigate gene regulation in maize (corn), an agriculturally important crop; 5) Investigate the genetic variation and uniqueness among wildlife pathogens implicated in amphibian declines and mass mortality events worldwide; 6) Characterize the biodiversity of microbes in multiple soil types (e.g. organic soils, contaminated soils); 7) Characterize macroinvertebrate biodiversity in New Jersey streams; 8) Characterize the microorganisms making up harmful algal blooms in order to better manage these blooms and protect drinking and recreational waters; 9) Further explore causative agents of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms by looking at the metal stress response; 10) Further develop parallel computing software to generate phylogenetic trees; 11) Identify molecular changes that could be targeted for treatment when the parasite responsible for lymphatic filarialsis (elephantiasis) undergoes stress.