MRI: Acquisition of Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) for Multidisciplinary Research and Education at Fordham University

福德姆大学获得了一个奖项，为福德姆大学化学系的多用户设施购买了一台BD FACSMelody（BYG 6-色板4路）荧光激活细胞分选仪（FACS）。收购最先进的仪器，如流式细胞仪将改善研究基础设施和推进教师的研究和培训计划的学生和博士后在两个校区。它将增强生物科学，化学，心理学和自然科学部门以及更广泛的社区之间的合作研究机会。它还将使越来越多的本科理科专业学生接触到生物化学中强大的实验工具。在福德姆进行研究的少数民族机构的学生和教师，包括当地社区学院和高中，将大大受益于学习这种先进的技术。此外，它将有助于通过调查实验室实验为本科生提供有意义的研究和实践经验，作为最近建立的生物化学未成年人的一部分，并有助于扩大生物化学计划。它将提高学生理解复杂细胞机制的能力，并为他们提供加入STEM劳动力队伍并作为科学素养个人参与社会的技能和科学敏锐性。此外，教师计划开展外联活动，例如为当地老年公民组织创建播客，以便社区的弱势群体能够更多地了解疾病所涉及的细胞和生理过程。此外，还将为当地高中生举办讲习班。这些活动将促进多元化STEM劳动力的招聘，保留和专业发展。该仪器将促进关键领域的跨学科研究，包括组织工程、单分子生物物理学、蛋白质工程、环境科学、神经心理学和神经科学。它将提供一种尖端的多用户仪器，具有高灵敏度，可用于以高通量方式对各种细胞群进行定量和定性研究。流式细胞仪是一种重要的工具，用于分离高纯度的所需细胞群，并基于细胞标志物、大小和相互作用分析单细胞。流式细胞仪也是唯一的纯化技术，以快速和高效的方式分离和分选细胞的细胞内蛋白质表达的基础上。因此，FACS仪器将用于各种项目，包括检查细胞-生物材料界面处的干细胞分化途径，研究细菌中高保真和易错DNA复制的分子机制，研究新型离子液体的环境影响，检查工程肽的细胞摄取，研究转基因斑马鱼中神经元群体的行为，研究应激激素对白细胞的影响，以及阐明病毒进入和运输的机制，以减少HPV相关感染。该仪器提供的研究将使福德姆教师作出实质性贡献的各种重要的生物技术发展领域。作为美国最多样化的城市之一的机构，FACS仪器将提供一个特殊的机会，向福德姆的多样化学生群体传授高质量的研究和教学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

An award is made to Fordham University for the acquisition of a BD FACSMelody (BYG 6-Color Plate 4 way) fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) for a multiuser facility in the Chemistry Department at Fordham University. Acquisition of a state of the art instrument such as FACS will improve the research infrastructure and advance faculty research and training programs of students and postdocs across two campuses. It will enhance collaborative research opportunities between the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Psychology and Natural Sciences as well as the broader community. It will also expose a growing cohort of undergraduate science majors to a powerful experimental tool in biochemistry. Students and faculty from minority institutions, including local community colleges and high schools, conducting research at Fordham will greatly benefit from learning such advanced techniques. In addition, it will help provide meaningful research and hands-on experience to undergraduate students through investigative laboratory experiments as part of the recently established Biochemistry minor and aid in expanding the Biochemistry program. It will enhance student’s ability to understand intricate cellular mechanisms, and provide them with the skills and scientific acumen to join the STEM workforce and participate in the society as scientifically literate individuals. Additionally, faculty plan on outreach activities such as creating podcasts for local senior citizen organizations so that the community’s vulnerable population can become more aware about cellular and physiological processes involved in diseases. Furthermore, workshops for local high school students will be held. These activities will promote recruitment, retention, and professional development of a diverse STEM workforce. The instrument will facilitate interdisciplinary research in key areas including tissue engineering, single-molecule biophysics, protein engineering, environmental science, neuropsychology and neuroscience. It will provide a cutting-edge multi-user instrument with high sensitivity for quantitative and qualitative investigation of a variety of cell populations in a high-throughput manner. FACS is a crucial tool for the separation of desired cell populations in high purity and analysis of single cells based on cell markers, size, and interactions. FACS is also the only purification technique to isolate and sort cells based on intracellular protein expression in a rapid and highly efficient manner. Thus, the FACS instrument will be employed in a variety of projects that include examining stem cell differentiation pathways at cell-biomaterial interfaces, investigating the molecular mechanisms of high-fidelity and error-prone DNA replication in bacteria, studying the environmental impacts of novel ionic liquids, examining cellular uptake of engineered peptides, studying the behavior of neuronal populations in transgenic zebrafish, examining the effects of stress hormones on leukocytes, as well as elucidating the mechanism of viral entry and trafficking to reduce HPV related infections. The research afforded by the instrument will allow Fordham faculty to make substantive contributions to a variety of important developing areas of biotechnology. As an institution in one of the most diverse cities in the country, the FACS instrument will provide an exceptional opportunity to impart high-quality research and teaching to a diverse student population at Fordham.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.