Biological Irradiator

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X-ray radiation is a common medical technique used to diagnose and treat many injuries and diseases. It is equally an important technique in scientific research. A biological X-ray irradiator is vital to the research of several groups in the Department of Biological Sciences at University of Toronto Scarborough, spanning diverse fields including ecology and evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cell biology, microbiology, and immunology. For the expanding 'Cells and Infection' research cluster, a biological irradiator will allow these researchers to expand the scope of their research as it will open the opportunity to utilize one of the most powerful techniques in the immunologist's toolbox and which has been a cornerstone of experimental studies in cellular and humoral immunity for decades, bone marrow transplantation. Moreover, this technique will allow researchers to genetically define the important cellular components crucial for the functioning of the immune system. This research will address questions related to B cell activation, a critical component of the adaptive immune system responsible for the production of antibodies, as well as the cell biology of phagocytosis, the process by which cells of the immune system take up and destroy pathogens. In addition, this equipment is vital to research projects utilizing primary neurons in order to address questions related to the mechanisms of cell death in ischemic diseases such as stroke and heart attack. Finally, the equipment requested will facilitate evolutionary ecology work studying behavioural, life history, and morphological traits related to reproductive success. Thus, the biological irradiator requested here will impact on the research of diverse fields in the biological sciences, which together address important questions in medical and health sciences and ecology.