FACSymphony S6 Cell Sorter for Improving Basic, Clinical, and Translational Cancer Research Capabilities

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Flow Cytometry Shared Resource (FCSR) is a comprehensive core facility that has been an integral component of the Moores Cancer Center (MCC) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) since 1990. It serves all MCC research programs and the La Jolla biomedical research community at large with ready access to high-speed flow cytometry-based analysis and cell sorting of dissociated cell populations from clinical samples, animal experiments, and cell culture studies. The FCSR has been a highly utilized and essential core facility critical to diverse research programs in the MCC. Between 2013-2018, the FCSR served 59 MCC investigators and was utilized for nearly 4000 hours by MCC investigators. However, recent advances in FACS technology have rendered current sorters in the FCSR mostly obsolete and incapable of meeting state-of-the- art research needs, which threatens to limit critical advances in cancer research. The two cell sorters located in the FCSR, a BD FACSAria I and FACSAria II, are over 15 and 13 years old, respectively. BD no longer supports service contracts for the FACSAria I, and as a consequence, the instrument has been rendered mostly inoperative. While the FACSAria II is still somewhat operational, its age and configuration (4 laser, 13 color, 4- way sorting) are insufficient to meet current research needs. In addition, the FACSAria II is not housed within a biosafety cabinet, which limits its use for sorting certain biohazardous samples, including some human clinical samples. With these shortcomings recognized by senior MCC leadership, a comprehensive plan to revitalize the FCSR was developed. Towards that end, they have appointed Dr. Signer as the new co-Director of the FCSR in charge of new instrumentation. Funds are requested to acquire the BD FACSymphony S6 high parameter cell sorter, a bench-top high speed cell sorter equipped with five lasers (355, 405, 488, 561, and 637 nm) capable of analyzing up to 23 different colors plus forward and side scatter. The FACSymphony will be contained within a Baker Class II Type A2 biosafety cabinet to meet safety and regulatory requirements for sorting clinical samples. This instrument represents a crucial early step in advancing the MCC senior leaders’ vision to modernize the MCC FCSR. The BD FACSymphony S6 cell sorter when combined with the expertise, leadership, and training plans of Dr. Signer and staff will ensure that researchers at UCSD and within the surrounding scientific community once again have access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to the cell sorting technology they need to carry out high-impact cancer research. Without this instrument, the FCSR will continue to have severely limited instrumentation, and MCC faculty research will be impaired. Acquisition of the BD FACSymphony S6 cell sorter will enable the FCSR to continue its central mission to provide state-of-the-art instrumentation, expert support, education, and training for MCC investigators and the La Jolla biomedical research community in a highly effective, reliable and cost-efficient manner.