MRI: Acquisition of a Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) System to Enable Research and Enhance Undergraduate Education at Western Washington University

西华盛顿大学（WWU）获得了最先进的液相色谱-质谱（LC-MS）系统。该仪器将被安置和维护在一个集中的仪器设施中，将为世界海洋大学主校区和香农角海洋中心（SPMC）的广泛研究和教学活动提供核心机构资源。作为一所以本科生为主的大学，世界海洋大学致力于提供最高水平的课堂教学，同时也为本科生和硕士研究生提供真实的研究体验。LC-MS将直接支持这项任务。首先，它将被纳入STEM课程的多个课程，每年为数百名本科生提供有意义的质谱接触。LC-MS也将成为世界海洋大学和当地社区大学的实验室课程合作项目的关键组成部分。最后，在课堂之外，参与教师主导的研究的学生将获得现代质谱技术实践培训的新机会，为他们提供一套在科学劳动力就业或追求高级研究生学习时有价值的技能。除了对教学和学生培训产生影响外，LC-MS还将对WWU和SPMC的许多研究项目产生变革。质谱法是生物和化学科学的一项基础技术，通常是确定分子结构或测量复杂生物和环境样品中特定化合物丰度的首选方法。LC-MS将使研究工作的例子包括具有独特生物特性的蛋白质工程，参与血液凝固或细胞形状维持的蛋白质结构研究，参与生态相互作用和环境变化反应的信号分子和其他天然产物的鉴定和定量，蛋白质和基因调控系统的基础研究，以及新化合物的合成。在所有情况下，这些研究的结果将在适当的科学会议上和通过同行审查的出版物向更广泛的科学界传播。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An award is made to Western Washington University (WWU) for the acquisition of a state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system. This instrument, which will be housed and maintained within a centralized instrument facility, will provide a core institutional resource for a broad range of research and teaching activities at WWU's main campus and Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC). As a primarily undergraduate institution, WWU is committed to providing the highest-level of classroom instruction, while also offering authentic research experiences for undergraduate and masters-level graduate students. The LC-MS will directly support this mission. First, it will be incorporated into multiple courses in the STEM curriculum, providing meaningful exposure to mass spectrometry for hundreds of undergraduates every year. The LC-MS will also become a key component of a collaborative project involving laboratory courses at WWU and a local community college. Finally, outside of the classroom, students involved in faculty led research will be afforded new opportunities for hands-on training in modern mass spectrometry techniques, providing them with a skill set that will be valuable when seeking employment in the scientific workforce or for pursuing advanced graduate studies.In addition to impacts on teaching and student training, the LC-MS will be transformative for numerous research programs at WWU and SPMC. Mass spectrometry is a foundational technique in the biological and chemical sciences, and is often the preferred method for confirming molecular structure or for measuring the abundance of specific compounds in complex biological and environmental samples. Examples of research efforts that will be enabled by the LC-MS include the engineering of proteins with unique biological properties, structural studies of proteins involved in blood coagulation or the maintenance of cell shape, identification and quantitation of signaling molecules and other natural products that are involved in ecological interactions and responses to environmental change, fundamental investigations of protein and gene regulation systems, and the synthesis of novel compounds. In all cases, the results of these studies will be disseminated to the broader scientific community at appropriate scientific conferences and through peer-reviewed publications.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.