Equipment Enhancement for NCV: P20RR 15635

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This revised application for a COBRE supplement details a plan to upgrade shared instrumentation to support the Nebraska Center for Virology (NCV), an NIH-IDeA funded and designated Center of Biomedical Research Excellence. The long-term goal of the NCV is to become a nationally recognized center of excellence in virology research. The Center's objectives are to 1) conduct basic research addressing fundamental questions about the replication cycle of HIV, herpesviruses and other infectious agents and about host responses that may lead to pathological changes and 2) create an environment that wilt stimulate multi-discipline interactions to produce a new generation of innovative researchers with a much broader knowledge encompassing the entire field of virology. The Nebraska Center for Virology has made substantial progress toward its long-term goal and objectives during the past three years, but faces a barrier to continuing its momentum - a deficiency in certain large shared pieces of equipment, which negatively impacts NCV researchers and the Center's ability to recruit new hires. The objectives of this proposal are to purchase and replace major shared instrumentation to meet the needs of new NCV researchers, assist in the recruitment of promising researchers and to enhance biomedical research focusing on infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. These objectives will be accomplished through a three-part specific aim: purchase major shared equipment items to support current Center faculty and to attract promising new researchers to the Center. The subaims are to purchase: (a) a confocal microscope for live-cell imaging, (b) a flow cytometer for sorting and analysis of virally infected cells and (c) a phosphorimaging system to replace an existing obsolete unit. Support for this revised application will ensure that the synergy that has resulted from the formation of the Nebraska Center for Virology will continue to elevate Nebraska biomedical research to the next level of excellence.