MRI: Acquisition of a Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter to Establish a Flow Cytometry Core Facility at Loyola University Maryland

授予马里兰州洛约拉大学获得荧光激活细胞分选仪（FACS）仪器，以建立一个新的流式细胞术核心设施，并加强现有的显微镜核心设施。FACS仪器能够同时测量细胞中的多种荧光标记的分子和细胞性质，并根据这些性质从混合群体中分离单个细胞群体。这种强大的技术将提供在五个马里兰州学院和大学就读的本科生，以及谁来洛约拉从美国各地的研究技术培训，每年夏天的本科生有价值的培训。此外，洛约拉将开发一个夏季计划，为来自当地高中的代表性不足的学生，以获得接触到的FACS仪器和相关研究。为了进一步与当地社区接触，细胞分选机将可用于生物医学创业公司的企业孵化器，以推进新型细胞技术的研究和开发。所有这些活动将有助于加强巴尔的摩和周边地区的科技环境和经济。流式细胞术的核心设施将有助于支持和丰富现有的教师领导的研究，涉及本科研究生在多个学院和大学，包括洛约拉大学马里兰州，古彻学院，圣母院的马里兰州大学，陶森大学和华盛顿学院。FACS技术将使教师和学生能够参与各种研究项目，包括控制基因表达的DNA包装以确定细胞命运，肠道微生物组和内分泌系统之间的相互作用，补充和替代药物对免疫力的影响，重金属暴露对DNA修复和毒性的影响，以及细胞周期检查点因子在基因组完整性和程序性细胞死亡中的作用。流式细胞仪技术的增加将有助于推进这些项目中每一个项目的目标，允许收集更复杂和具体的分子和细胞数据，并允许创建专门选择用于未来实验的特定特性的细胞系。此外，与初创公司和小型生物技术公司合作，有可能帮助开发新技术和疗法。利用FACS仪器的研究项目的结果将通过与大学生合著者的同行评审出版物以及在区域和国家科学会议上的演讲传达给科学界。该奖项反映了NSF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 Loyola University Maryland to acquire a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) instrument to establish a new flow cytometry core facility and enhance the existing microscopy core facility. A FACS instrument is capable of measuring multiple fluorescently tagged molecular and cellular properties in cells simultaneously and separating individual cell populations according to these properties from a mixed population. This powerful technology will provide valuable training for undergraduate students enrolled in five Maryland colleges and universities, as well as undergraduate students who come to Loyola from across the US for training in research techniques each summer. In addition, Loyola will develop a summer program for underrepresented students from local area high schools to gain exposure to the FACS instrument and related research. To further engage with the local community, the cell sorter will be accessible to a business incubator for biomedical startup companies to advance research and development of novel cell-based technologies. All these activities will contribute to an enhanced scientific and technology-based environment and economy in Baltimore and the surrounding region. The flow cytometry core facility will serve to support and enrich existing faculty-led research involving undergraduate research students at multiple colleges and universities, including Loyola University Maryland, Goucher College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Towson University, and Washington College. The FACS technology will enable faculty and students to engage in varied research projects including control of DNA packaging for gene expression in determining cell fate, the interplay between the gut microbiome and the endocrine system, the effect of complementary and alternative medicines on immunity, the impact of heavy metal exposure on DNA repair and toxicity, and the role of cell cycle checkpoint factors in genome integrity and programmed cell death. The addition of the FACS technology will serve to advance the objectives of each of these projects by allowing for the collection of more complex and specific molecular and cellular data, and by allowing for the creation of cell lines specifically selected for their particular properties for future experimentation. Furthermore, there is the potential to aid in development of novel technologies and therapeutics from collaborations with startup and small biotechnology companies. Results from research projects utilizing the FACS instrument will be communicated to the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications with undergraduate co-authors and presentations at regional and national scientific conferences.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.