MRI: Acquisition of a 500 MHz NMR spectrometer with a cryoprobe for expanding interdisciplinary research and education at the Fresno State

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An award is made to California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) to acquire a 500 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer with a cryoprobe. The instrument will be the centerpiece of the Fresno State NMR facility, which supports research, teaching, and student training across multiple disciplines including biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, chemistry, and physics. Fresno State serves a population with a high proportion of students that are traditionally under-represented in these disciplines including minority, first-generation, and socio-economically disadvantaged students. The spectrometer will be used to train over 50 undergraduate and graduate research students from diverse backgrounds each semester. The instrument will be used to modernize undergraduate and graduate laboratory classes and to incorporate 2D-NMR methods and multi-nuclear experiments. The NMR spectrometer will also be utilized in Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), which are being broadly implemented at Fresno State across the curriculum to improve access to research opportunities. Projects will strengthen ties and collaborations with the regional agricultural biotechnology industry, government research laboratories, and local community colleges.The project will support and enhance research across a broad spectrum of research areas. These include studies of the structure and dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins, development of methods for real-time kinetics measurements, natural product/medicinal chemistry characterization, and several metabolomics studies. The project will also enable new projects to be initiated including characterization of nanomaterials, nanobody-antigen binding studies, and development of methods to investigate organic radical kinetics and mechanisms. Evaluations of CUREs will provide insights on embedding NMR-dependent research into the curriculum at a diverse, comprehensive institution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.