Digital Spatial Profiler

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ABSTRACT Funds are requested for a NanoString GeoMxTM Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP). This instrument is a multiplexed imaging device that facilitates spatial gene expression analysis. This instrument will provide unique value added to investigators at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the surrounding area in Western New York. The DSP instrument couples technologies that give spatial information in formalin fixed tissue with downstream molecular analysis. Traditional technologies such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) or immunofluorescence (IF) provide spatial information but are limited by fluorophores. In contrast, single cell sequencing provides deep information on single cells, but spatial information is lost. The DSP can accurately and sensitively detect up to 1800 RNA molecules and 96 proteins, with spatial resolution using a combination of RNA probes and antibodies. This form of data is particularly relevant in the context of cancer research (e.g. tumor heterogeneity, tumor microenvironment), as well as other biological disciplines (e.g. developmental biology, neuroscience). While there are tools for spatial analyses and genomics at Roswell Park, there is no comparable technology to the DSP in a 200-mile radius. The instrument will be placed in the Center for Personalized Medicine (CPM), which is focused on advanced tissue analysis and juxtaposed with the Genomics Shared Resource (GSR) of Roswell Park which is focused on molecular analyses. This structure provides the unique combination of pathological and genomic expertise to appropriately leverage the DSP instrument. There are 8 major users of the instrument that combined will use ~80% of the instrument capacity. Remaining instrument capacity will be made available to internal or external researchers through our on-line scheduling and booking system. The CPM/GSR directors will generate a business plan, with a multidisciplinary advisory board responsible for instrument oversight, while the institution will support the instrument through service contracts, personnel, and marketing/promoting. This new instrument will provide more unique data that will enable funded researchers to best advance their programs for maximum impact.