MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a fluorescence activated cell sorter to advance multidisciplinary biological research and training at the University of Memphis

授予孟菲斯大学一个奖项，以支持收购BD FACSMelody荧光激活细胞分类器(FACS)，用于共享的多用户设施。FACS将加强孟菲斯大学和孟菲斯地区研究机构之间广泛的多学科和合作研究，并丰富对下一代生物学家的培训。该仪器将使研究人员能够根据特定的细胞表面标记或细胞大小来分离细胞群体，并评估它们的特定细胞功能。FACS将允许现有的研究人员解决令人兴奋的新的基础科学，并帮助吸引未来的研究人员，从而提高在孟菲斯大学进行尖端研究的能力。该仪器的获得和使用将加强与孟菲斯动物园的联系，并为孟菲斯地区的两所主要本科院校和历史悠久的黑人学院和大学(HBCU)提供教育机会。FACS将改善研究基础设施，加强教师研究，并扩大对生物科学系、健康科学学院、大学其他STEM项目和孟菲斯科学界的本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员的培训。孟菲斯大学与合作机构一起为不同的受训者群体提供服务，收购FACS将确保来自不同背景的学生和博士后研究人员将有机会学习使用FACS仪器。该项目还将通过与当地机构，包括HBCU和孟菲斯动物园举办年度小型研讨会和外联活动，加强联网和合作机会。BD FACSMelody荧光激活细胞分选器(FACS)根据细胞大小和细胞表面标记将细胞快速分组，这些标记赋予细胞一组独特的特征(例如，胰岛素受体和胰岛素依赖的葡萄糖运输)。这使得研究人员能够解决广泛的多学科生物学问题，包括基因表达的调节，对环境的适应性变化的进化，以及信息如何从细胞外传递到细胞内部。项目将集中在1)向日葵家族形态特征的遗传基础；2)与肥胖、衰老和疾病有关的免疫细胞群的变化；3)受体运输如何调节细胞反应；4)干细胞的单细胞基因组分析；5)环境毒素对皮肤功能的影响；6)分析蚂蚁触角感觉神经元中的基因表达；以及7)通过加强辅助生殖技术来保护濒危物种。该项目的成果将通过发表在同行评议文章中、在科学会议上发表、并分享给社会媒体与科学界分享。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 the University of Memphis to support the acquisition of a BD FACSMelody Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) for a shared, multiuser facility. The FACS will enhance a broad range of multidisciplinary and collaborative research among the University of Memphis and Memphis area research institutions and enrich the training of the next generation of biologists. This instrument will enable researchers to separate cell populations based on specific cell surface markers or cell size and evaluate them for specific cellular functions. The FACS will allow current researchers to address exciting new basic science and help to attract future researchers thus improving the capacity to perform cutting-edge research at the University of Memphis. The acquisition and use of this instrument will strengthen connections with the Memphis Zoo and provide educational opportunities to two Primarily Undergraduate Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Memphis area. The FACS will improve research infrastructure, enhance faculty research, and expand the training of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences, the College of Health Sciences, other STEM programs at the university, and the Memphis scientific community. The University of Memphis along with collaborating institutions serves a diverse population of trainees and the acquisition of the FACS will ensure students and postdoctoral researchers from different backgrounds will have the opportunity to learn to use the FACS instrument. The project will also enhance networking and collaborative opportunities through an annual mini-symposium and outreach activities with local institutions, including HBCUs and the Memphis Zoo. The BD FACSMelody Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) rapidly separates cells into groups based on size and cell-surface markers that give the cell a unique set of characteristics (e.g., the insulin receptor and insulin-dependent glucose transport). This allows researchers to address a wide range of multidisciplinary biological questions including the regulation of gene expression, the evolution of adaptive changes to the environment, and how information is transferred from the outside to the inside of the cell. Projects will focus on 1) the genetic basis for morphological traits in the sunflower family; 2) changes in immune cell populations associated with obesity, aging, and disease; 3) how receptor trafficking regulates cellular responses; 4) the single cell genomic analysis of stem cells; 5) the impact of environmental toxins on skin function; 6) the analysis of gene expression in the sensory neurons of ant antennae; and 7) endangered species conservation by enhancing techniques for assisted reproduction. The work that results from this project will be shared with the scientific community through publications within peer-reviewed articles, presentations at scientific meetings, and sharing to social media.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.