MRI: Acquisition of a benchtop cell sorter to advance undergraduate research and training in biology at Lewis & Clark College

刘易斯和克拉克学院将获得一台台式细胞分选器，这将促进校园内至少三个实验室的创新和尖端研究。细胞分选是一种基于物理、化学和/或分子特性来表征、分离和收集来自不同种群的细胞或细胞器的方法。购置一台细胞分类器将支持生物系为本科生提供有意义的生物科学研究经验和培训。通过扩大校园可用方法的范围，这一工具将扩大刘易斯和克拉克学院的研究能力，并增加本科生在教职研究实验室工作的机会。细胞分选仪还将被纳入实验室课程，甚至是入门课程，在这些课程中，学生将接受培训，以设计和开展他们自己的原创、独立的研究项目。由于实验方法的进步和对研究独特细胞类型和细胞器的更深入的理解，细胞分选在生物学研究中变得越来越常见和必要。基因组学和蛋白质组学技术现在更加敏感、高效和负担得起，为分析通过细胞分选收集的特定细胞和细胞器创造了新的机会。最近的发展也使基因编辑变得更容易和更容易，最佳实践使用细胞分类器来选择基因改变的细胞。因此，细胞分选机的提供将支持和推进刘易斯和克拉克学院至少三个实验室的研究，以使用这些现代方法来获得对生物过程的新见解。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行了评估，认为值得支持。

An award is made to Lewis & Clark College to acquire a benchtop cell sorter, which will facilitate innovative and cutting-edge research in at least three laboratories on campus. Cell sorting is a method used to characterize, separate, and collect cells or organelles from a heterogeneous population based on physical, chemical and/or molecular properties. The acquisition of a cell sorter will support the Biology Department in providing meaningful research experiences and training in the biological sciences to undergraduate students. By expanding the range of approaches available on campus, this instrument will broaden the research capacity at Lewis & Clark College and enhance opportunities for undergraduate students working in faculty research labs. The cell sorter also will be incorporated into laboratory courses, even at the introductory-level, in which students are trained to design and carry out their own original, independent research projects.Cell sorting has becoming increasingly common and necessary in biological research, due to advancements in experimental methods and a deeper appreciation for studying unique cell-types and organelles. Genomics and proteomics technologies are now more sensitive, efficient, and affordable, creating new opportunities to analyze specific cells and organelles that are collected by cell sorting. Recent developments also have made gene editing easier and more accessible, and best practices employ a cell sorter to select genetically altered cells. The availability of a cell sorter, therefore, will support and advance research in at least three laboratories at Lewis & Clark College to employ these modern methods towards gaining new insight into biological processes. These include studies into the mechanisms of cell-specific gene regulation, the effects of developmental nicotine exposure in D. melanogaster, and the functions of lysosome-related organelles in C. elegans.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.