Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) to Enhance Research Capabilities at Western Kentucky University

授予西肯塔基州大学（WKU）获得荧光激活细胞分选仪（FACS），以提高学习和研究培训机会，为学生社区在一个主要的本科大学。它将使多样化的本科生群体获得实践技能，使用最新的技术来制作高质量的研究数据。除了本科生和硕士生外，卡罗尔·马丁·加顿数学与科学学院的高中生也将参加FACS系统的研究。该技术的使用将丰富学生的学习和研究经验，通过获得新的研究技能，数据分析和研究交流，通过在地方，区域和国家会议上的演讲。收购FACS将进一步促进学生独特的学习和研究培训机会和经验，并在WKU和中南部肯塔基州地区提供教师研究机会。细胞分选机将使学生和研究人员能够使用现代技术进行单细胞分析，并在正常和压力相关条件下（如感染，癌症，睡眠呼吸暂停或暴露于化学品）获得体内分子变化的见解。因此，获得FACS的奖项将对WKU教师在不同领域的研究产生有利影响，包括微生物学，免疫学，癌症生物学，细胞周期进展，毒理学，发育生物学，内分泌学和神经生物学。它将导致更好地理解细胞正常功能的分子和信号通路。该工具将扩大学生参与研究的机会，并加强WKU的研究。 流式细胞仪将用于免疫学和细胞生物学实验室课程，使不在研究实验室工作的学生能够学习流式细胞术和细胞分选的概念和应用，这将建立从样本采集和处理到计数，分选，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学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

An award is made to Western Kentucky University (WKU) to obtain a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) to enhance learning and research training opportunities for the student community at a primarily undergraduate university. It will enable the diverse, undergraduate population to gain hands-on skills with using up-to-date technology in producing high quality research data. Besides undergraduate and Master’s students, high school students from the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science will participate in research enabled by the FACS system. The use of this technology will enrich student learning and research experience through acquisition of new research skills, data analysis and communication of research through presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. The acquisition of FACS will further promote unique learning and research training opportunities and experiences for student as well as provide faculty research opportunities at WKU and in the south-central Kentucky region. The cell sorting machine will enable students and researchers to use modern technology to perform single cell analysis and gain insights of in-vivo molecular changes during normal and stress-related conditions such as an infection, cancer, sleep apnea, or exposure to chemicals. Thus, the award to acquire FACS will favorably impact WKU faculty research in diverse fields including microbiology, immunology, cancer biology, cell cycle progression, toxicology, developmental biology, endocrinology, and neurobiology. It will lead to better understanding of the molecular and signaling pathways for normal functioning of the cells. The instrument will expand opportunities for student involvement in research and enhance research at WKU. The FACS will be used in immunology and cell biology laboratory courses to enable students who are not working in research laboratories to learn the concepts and application of flow cytometry and cell sorting which will build a systematic understanding from acquisition and processing of samples to counting, sorting, and characterizing diverse cell types.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.