A High Throughput, High Content Screening System for Northwestern University

描述（由申请人提供）：当代生命科学研究已经看到越来越多的集成方法，允许高度并行的分析。基因功能的表征，由基因组序列的完成驱动，已经达到了一个新的水平的重要性与出现的全基因组RNAi集合，允许大规模废除后生动物基因功能。表型的显微镜评价通常代表了这些方法的一个削弱限速步骤，因此高通量研究通常以简单的光度测量而告终。由于许多生物学依赖于细胞的直接观察，因此开发允许定量高通量分析细胞形态的方法引起了相当大的兴趣。西北大学新成立的高吞吐量分析设施是一个共享资源中心，使学术研究人员能够从事涉及大规模自动化的项目。我们最近与Open Biosystems达成了一项协议，允许西北大学的研究人员在当地完全访问先进的RNAi集合，这些集合允许敲除几乎所有的小鼠和人类基因。这将通过卫生技术评估实验室作为核心资源进行运作。我们显然需要扩大这一设施的分析能力。一组NIH资助的研究人员正在进行或设计了各种项目，这些项目需要高通量显微镜和对所得图像数据进行复杂的形态测量分析。我们缺乏这一能力，在这一领域也没有适当的共同工具。因此，我们要求提供资金，用于购买蔡司/Cellomics ArrayScan成像系统，以使这些项目和其他项目能够向前推进。该系统独特地将出色的光学元件与行业领先的软件和应用程序开发支持相结合。该系统的总体好处将是推进一些与人类健康相关的特定NIH资助项目，例如癌症和与年龄相关的错误折叠蛋白质聚集体积累。该系统在开放获取HTA实验室的放置也将为芝加哥地区的研究人员提供一个独特的分析工具，在西北和其他地区的机构。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Contemporary life science research has seen increasing integration of approaches that allow highly parallel analysis. The characterization of gene function, driven by completion of genome sequence, has reached a new level of importance with the advent of whole genome RNAi collections that allow large-scale abrogation of metazoan gene function. Microscopic evaluation of phenotype often represents a debilitating rate-limiting step to these approaches, and as a result high-throughput studies most often culminate with simple photometric measurements. Since much of biology rests on direct observation of cells, development of approaches allowing quantitative high-throughput analysis of cell morphology has therefore commanded considerable interest. Northwestern University's newly established High Throughput Analysis facility is a shared resource center that makes it possible for academic researchers to pursue projects that involve large-scale automation. We have recently entered into an agreement with Open Biosystems that allows researchers at Northwestern complete local access to advanced RNAi collections that allow knockdown of virtually all mouse and human genes. This will be operated as a core resource through the HTA lab. We clearly need to expand the analytical capabilities of this facility. A group of NIH-funded researchers are undertaking or have designed diverse projects that require both high- throughput microscopy and sophisticated morphometric analyses of resulting image data. We lack this capability, and no suitable shared instrument is available in the area. We are therefore requesting funds are requested for purchase of a Zeiss/Cellomics ArrayScan imaging system to allow these and other projects to move forward. This system uniquely combines outstanding optical components with industry-leading software and applications development support. The overall benefit of this system will be to advance a number of specific NIH-funded projects relevant to human health, such as cancer and age-related accumulation of misfolded protein aggregates. Placement of this system in the open access HTA Lab will also provide a unique analytical tool for Chicago-area researchers, at Northwestern and other area institutions.