Flow Cytometry for BSL 3

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this Recovery Act Limited Competition: High-End Instrumentation Grant Program (S10) application is to secure funding to purchase a Special BD FACSAria IITM system high speed parallel cell sorter for BSL3-level work with infectious microorganisms for the Flow Cytometry Core Facility (FCCF) at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. The FCCF does not have a cell sorter for use under BSL3 conditions, and there is no other sorter within 70 miles of the University. The FCCF is a very heavily used core facility at the University of Virginia and provides flow cytometry related services on a fee for service basis to the University community in general and particularly to NIH funded investigators in the School of Medicine. The FCCF currently serves over 200 investigators from the laboratories of 95 PIs from 27 different departments. 42 of these PIs use the FCCF for cell sorting. In May 2009 the majority of biodefense and infectious diseases researchers will move into the new Carter-Harrison Medical Research Building, which includes extensive state-of-the-art BSL3 and aBSL3 labs. The requested sorter will be placed in a dedicated BSL3 laboratory for cell sorting in the Carter-Harrison Building. Biodefense research at the University of Virginia is conducted by more than 25 members of the faculty who are supported by over $20 million in NIH support annually. There are 8 faculties with immediate need for BSL3-level cell sorting capabilities. Purchase and implementation of the new cell sorter will 1) allow the FCCF to meet the currently unmet demand for BSL3 cell sorting, 2) meet anticipated requirements for increased capacity in the near future, and 3) increase services available to the UVA community by increasing the parameters available for sorting. Relevance: Fluorescence activated cell sorting is a technique of fundamental importance in current biomedical research and crosses many disciplines. Cell sorting is used by individuals doing basic, clinical and translational research working on problems related to cancer, infectious disease, aging, immunology, neuroscience and cardiovascular disease among many others. The inability to meet the demand for BSL3 cell sorting services at UVA has become a serious bottleneck to completing a wide variety of research projects funded in a large part by the NIH. Purchase of a new cell sorter will relieve this bottleneck and extend our capabilities.