Genomics at the Shoreline

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This award will establish a Marine Genomics Center at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL) by remodeling an underutilized lab building, already equipped with a flow-through seawater system, into a wet lab with dry procedure spaces containing the modern tools for molecular genomics – tools for nanopore sequencing, amplification, purification, and quality assurance. The new lab will attract new researchers, will allow established researchers to expand their work at FHL, and will be used as a training center for the next generation of biologists participating in FHL programs involving genomics research. Having the lab configuration easily modified will also enable its use forshort-term training workshops with 15-20 participants. This Center will contribute to research on understanding the relationship between organismal genomes and phenomes. A lab with the capacity for DNA barcoding, whole genome sequencing, real time PCR, and disease detection will significantly expand on FHL’s existing strengths in bioimaging, libraries of CT scans, apprenticeships, workshops, and undergraduate training programs in phenomics research. An onsite molecular biology lab at FHL will attract new principal investigators and graduate students and maintain its relevance as a research institution. Investing in infrastructure for molecular biology research at FHL will have broader impacts in human health and will help communicate the connections between molecules, organismal morphology, and the ocean. For more information about Friday Harbor Laboratories, see https://fhl.uw.edu/.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.