ShEEP Request for Real Time PCR Quant Studio 12K Flex and Tecan Liquid Handler for Illumina HiScan

退伍军人事务部的职责是为那些符合以下条件的人提供优质的医疗服务 在军队中为他们的国家服务。研究和发展办公室在美国 退伍军人事务部关注通过更好地改善退伍军人的医疗保健 了解疾病的基本成分、临床表现和需要医疗的条件 治疗、对卫生服务提供的理解和改进以及康复科学。 此应用程序请求支持为研究人员提供关键基础架构的共享仪器 寻求通过这些机制中的每一个来改善退伍军人的健康。大学的研究界 普罗维登斯退伍军人医疗中心在这些领域都有着悠久的卓越历史。从生物界 心血管疾病的基础，到精神病理学的仔细描述，到 创新长期服务，做好心身疾病康复工作 普罗维登斯VAMC在以退伍军人为中心的医学研究领域取得了巨大的成效。 与这一卓越历史相一致的是对尖端研究基础设施的要求 这个富有成效的研究社区。因此，此应用程序请求支持两项科学技术 这可能会进一步扩大众多退伍军人管理局研究人员的影响和创新。 我们正在寻求支持的第一台仪器是一台实时PCR机，以取代老化、过时的 目前正在使用的技术。该设备允许评估成本中的特定遗传变异- 举止得力。除了分析遗传信息的能力外，我们还越来越多地使用这种 用于确定基因表达水平的机器。因为这台机器将取代过时的设备(不再 在制造商的支持下)，它将无缝地适应我们现有的工作流程。 我们正在寻求支持的第二个仪器是一个自动化液体处理系统，以集成 进入我们现有的Illumina阵列读取器系统。这项技术允许对基因进行经济检测， 表观遗传和基因表达在整个基因组中的差异。这种“经济学”层面的分析是 与上述个性化方法相辅相成。作为我们使用Illumina微阵列的工作 多年来一直在增加，我们已经确定液体处理步骤是我们 吞吐量。获得此Tecan系统将消除我们保持此工作流程能力的一个关键瓶颈 移动效率高。由于这个液体处理系统将被集成到现有的工作流程中，我们有 使用这种设备的专业知识和需求。 获得这一新设备将使我们能够补充退伍军人协会的努力 项目(MVP)。也就是说，MVP依赖于CPRS中的临床数据，而PVAMC基因组实验室允许 对照人群样本中同种基因变异的检测 审判。通过利用大量的MVP观测数据和本地对照研究，我们增加了我们的 成功识别基因靶点的机会最终将指向我们的治疗方法的改进 退伍军人。将受益于拟议设备的研究的例子包括特蕾西·谢伊博士的研究 关于创伤后应激障碍的研究，普里马克博士对自杀的研究，菲利普博士对精神病理学的神经基础的研究， Wu对卫生服务利用率的研究，以及其他许多调查关键条件的次要用户 老兵健康。

The responsibility of the Department of Veteran Affairs is to provide excellent medical care to those who have served their country in the Armed Services. The Office of Research and Development within the Department of Veteran Affairs is concerned with improving medical care of Veterans through better understanding of the basic components of disease, the clinical manifestations of conditions requiring medical treatment, the understanding and improvement of health service delivery, and the science of rehabilitation. This application requests support for shared instrumentation that provides critical infrastructure to researchers seeking to improve Veteran health through each of those mechanisms. The research community at the Providence VA Medical Center has a long history of excellence in each of these domains. From the biological bases of cardiovascular disease, to the careful characterization of psychopathology, to the Center of Innovation for Long Term Services, to the outstanding Rehabilitation work for mental and physical disorders the Providence VAMC has been enormously productive in the area of Veteran-centric medical research. Consistent with this history of excellence is the requirement for cutting edge research infrastructure to serve this productive research community. Accordingly, this application requests support for two pieces of scientific instrumentation that may further extend the impact and innovation of numerous VA researchers. The first instrument that we are seeking support for is a real-time PCR machine to replace aging, outdated technology currently in use. This equipment allows for the assessment of specific genetic variation in a cost- effective manner. In addition to the ability to assay genetic information, increasingly we are also using this machine to determine levels of gene expression. As this machine will replace obsolete equipment (no longer supported by the manufacturer), it will fit seamlessly into our existing workflows. The second instrument that we are seeking support for is an automated liquid handling system to integrate into our existing Illumina array reader system. This technology allows the economical examination of genetic, epigenetic and gene expression differences across the entire genome. This “omic” level of analysis is complimentary to the individualized approach described above. As our work using the Illumina micorarrays has increased over the years we have identified the liquid handling steps as the limiting factor in our throughput. Obtaining this Tecan system will remove a critical bottleneck in our ability to keep this workflow moving efficiently. As this liquid handling system will be integrated into an existing workflow, we have the expertise and need to utilize this equipment. Obtaining this new equipment would position us to complement efforts of the VA-wide Million Veteran Project (MVP). That is, the MVP relies on the clinical data in CPRS, whereas the PVAMC genomics lab allows examination of the same kind of genetic variation in samples from those who have participated in controlled trials. By leveraging the massive MVP observational data with local controlled studies we increase our chances of successfully identifying genetic targets that will eventually point to improved therapeutics for our Veterans. Examples of studies that will benefit from the proposed equipment include Dr. Tracie Shea's studies of PTSD, Dr. Primack's studies of suicidality, Dr. Phillip's study of the neural bases of psychopathology, Dr. Wu's study of health service utilization, and numerous other minor users investigating conditions critical for Veteran health.