BSL3 Flow Sorter for Human Pathogens of Global Significance

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Project Summary: This proposal requests funding for a 4 laser, 12 color Sony MA900 Cell sorter with built-in Class II Biocontainment Hood and a Sorting Deposition System. The instrument will be housed in the Animal BSL3 Suite in the Cornell East Campus Research Facility at the College of Veterinary Medicine as part of a College-supported BSL3 Flow and Genomics Facility. The instrument is intended to support both established BSL3 research activities, including programs on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, HIV-1 and influenza, in addition to emerging research programs in SARS-CoV-2. The location of the instrument in the ABSL3 is intended to best support the sorting of infected cells from in vivo animal model infections. The instrument will build capacity in research on host- pathogen interactions in response to recent national and international needs for increased BSL3 research expertise and capabilities. We have chosen the Sony MA900 Cell Sorter because of its relative ease of use, its modular construction, including exchangeable fluidics systems, and our positive experience with this instrument model in the Cornell BRC Flow Cytometry Core on the Ithaca campus. The addition of flow sorting capabilities to an infection biology program can be revolutionary and facilitate genetic and chemical screens, genetic and epigenetic profiling of pathogens, host cells and immune effector cells, and the sorting of cell populations for downstream functional assays. Two of us (DGR and BCV) have already benefited from incorporation of flow sorting capacity into our BSL3 programs and have found the technology to be transformatory. Dr. David G. Russell (PD/PI), an NIH-funded infection biologist with extensive BSL3 experience, proposes building a new BSL3 Flow and Genomics Facility providing cell sorting capacity and 10X genomics library generation capabilities to BSL3 research programs at Cornell University. The User group (7 Major and 1 Minor Users) includes NIH-funded investigators with expertise in immunology, virology, bacteriology, drug discovery and different aspects of the genetics of host and pathogen. The one non-NIH funded investigator, Dr. Diego Diel, is heavily USDA-supported and works on animal models for SARS-CoV-2. We anticipate that the establishment of this capacity on campus will provide opportunities for trainees, promote collaboration and innovation, foster development of new research relevant to the goals of the NIH, and increase the profile of Cornell University as a center for research in host-pathogen interactions of significance to current challenges to Global Health.