MRI: Acquisition of a Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting System to Expand Synergistic Research and Educational Opportunities

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An award is made to Miami University for the acquisition of a fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) system. The FACS system will expand synergistic research and educational opportunities in southwest Ohio. This instrument will enhance Miami University's substantial commitment to undergraduate education and community outreach at all levels of education and socioeconomic status. New undergraduate laboratory exercises will incorporate the use of hands-on cell sorting experiences using the new FACS system. Miami University will also use the FACS system to enrich several existing community outreach programs including Talawanda Science Week, designed to inspire local elementary school students to enter STEM fields, and the Cincinnati Museum Center STEM Girls Day Out program serving 8-14 year old girls from the eight county area surrounding Cincinnati, Ohio tri-state region. The FACS system will create a centerpiece to solicit partners from agriculture and industry in collaboration with the BioOhio organization that serves the needs of biotechnology-driven companies in Ohio. Miami University's Hefner Museum of Natural History will also create an interactive, student-curated exhibit to introduce the principles of cell sorting, and how cell sorting technology can advance multidisciplinary scientific inquiry.The FACS system will support a broad range of ongoing, interdisciplinary research that ranges from tissues, to organs, to ecological communities. Regeneration research supported by the FACS system, at Miami University, include programs designed at bioengineering retina, bone, adipose tissue and liver. The FACS system will also enhance current Miami University research programs investigating inflammation, neuronal survival following injury, mitochondrial metabolism and male reproductive physiology. Furthermore, the FACS system will open up new avenues of investigation supporting current ecological work at Miami University studying algae and abiotic stress, microbial metabolism, and climate change impacts on autotroph/heterotroph interactions in lake ecosystems. In addition to providing an essential tool for current research, the FACS system will also foster the development of new collaborations and research areas to support economic, intellectual, and educational development in the southwest Ohio region.