Flow Cytometry and High Throughput Screening Shared Resource

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The UNM Shared Flow Cytometry and Chemical Biology Resource consists of laboratories located in the UNM Cancer Research Facility and The Research Incubator Building (RIB), 5 minutes walking distance The Cytometry and Screening components are directed by Bruce Edwards, Ph.D., and operated by Brandy Crowder and Catherine Prudom, Ph.D. respectively. The Cytometry and Screening Lab houses flow cytometers and other equipment that are available for use by researchers in the Cancer Center. The Resource developed the capability for high throughput screening with flow cytometers which has evolved into a full-fledged High Throughput Screening operation called the UNM Center for Molecular Discovery which is part of the NIH Roadmap funded Molecular Libraries Probe Production Center Network. Co-Director Tudor Oprea leads collaborative efforts in computational and informatics approaches to small molecule discovery housed in RIB. During the reporting period. Cancer Center members published >70 articles in association with resource usage including those based on computational approaches alone. Twenty-six members representing all 4 Cancer Center research programs used resource services (80% of total use) in conjunction with 25 research grants. Current charge backs to resource users are in the low to mid-range of nation-wide rates and Cancer Center members qualify for 20% co-pay on all rates. Resource users are individually trained in instrument and software use. New users are enabled to perform pilot projects through a waiver of use charges during the assay development phase. The Resource provides cell analysis, cell sorting, and offline data analysis as standard services. It recently introduced high throughput screening and cheminformatics, allowing resource users routine access to novel HyperCyt technology invented and developed at UNM by Bruce Edwards and Larry Sklar, the Cancer Center Associate Director of Basic Research. The overall goals of the facility are to provide: a) support services to research faculty; b) training such as ad hoc work with individual researchers and scheduled workshops in specialized areas; c) collaboration with Cancer Center investigators and trainees, particularly in the development of new research applications in small molecule identification, d) innovation through the development of high throughput capabilities and applications for use of 384 and 1536 well plates, screening of compound libraries, implementation of multiplexed bead-based analysis, and cheminformatics support for chemical biology projects; as well as e) dissemination through facility tours, descriptive poster displays, an annual open house and periodic updating of the Resource web site.