MRI: Acquisition of Mobile Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility for Microbiological Research and Minority Student Training

PI请求MRI资助，以获得一个移动的设施，用于流式细胞术和微生物细胞分选分析以及学生培训，包括代表性不足的少数民族本科生和研究生。这个移动的设施将成为协作资源中心的核心，使UCI和其他研究机构的学生和研究人员能够快速分析非常小的微生物（例如细菌或病毒）以及较大的原生动物，如弓形虫。移动的能力将使研究人员能够在采样地点对活种群进行分类（例如，在海上）。该设施将主要用于三个领域的研究：1）细菌基因组学和原位生理学，2）病毒丰度和与海洋宿主细菌的相互作用，以及3）寄生虫/宿主相互作用的进化研究。更广泛的影响：该提案的一个特别优势是它整合了UCI的学生培训计划，包括流式细胞术和环境微生物学。将Mota-Bravo博士列为少数民族科学方案主任应确保成功吸引和培训来自代表性不足群体的学生。拟议的设备还将加强由UCI 6个部门的研究人员和南加州大学的合作者指导的一系列环境微生物学项目的基础设施，因此其可用性的影响很大。

The PI's requests MRI funding to acquire a mobile facility for flow cytometry and cell sorting analysis of microorganisms and training of students, including underrepresented minority undergraduate and graduate students. This mobile facility will form the core of a collaborative resource center to enable students and researchers at UCI and other research institutions to rapidly analyze both very small microbes (e.g. bacteria or viruses) as well as larger protozoa such as Toxoplasma gondii. The mobile capacity will allow researchers to sort live populations at the sampling site (e.g., at sea). The facility will be used primarily for research in three areas: 1) bacterial genomics and in situ physiology, 2) viral abundance and interaction with marine host bacteria, and 3) interactive parasite/host evolution studies.Broader Impacts: A particular strength of the proposal is its integration of student training programs at UCI to include flow cytometry and environmental microbiology. The inclusion of Dr. Mota-Bravo as the director of the Minority Science Program should ensure success in attracting and training students from underrepresented groups. The proposed equipment will also strengthen the infrastructure for an array of environmental microbiology programs directed by investigators in 6 departments at UCI, and collaborators at USC, so the impact of its availability is high.