MRI: Acquisition of a Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter to Establish a Flow Cytometry Core Facility at Loyola University Maryland

马里兰洛约拉大学获得了一项奖励，以获得一种荧光活化细胞分选仪（FACS）仪器，以建立新的流式细胞仪核心设施，并增强现有的显微镜核心设施。FACS仪器能够同时测量细胞中多个荧光标记的分子和细胞特性，并根据这些特性从混合群体中分离单个细胞群体。这项强大的技术将为就读于马里兰州五所学院和大学的本科生以及每年夏天从美国各地来到洛约拉接受研究技术培训的本科生提供有价值的培训。此外，洛约拉将开发一个暑期课程，为来自当地高中代表性不足的学生，以获得接触FACS仪器和相关研究。为了进一步与当地社区合作，生物医学初创公司的商业孵化器将使用细胞分选器，以推进新型细胞技术的研究和开发。所有这些活动将有助于改善巴尔的摩及周边地区以科学和技术为基础的环境和经济。流式细胞仪核心设施将用于支持和丰富现有的教师主导的研究，涉及多所学院和大学的本科生，包括马里兰洛约拉大学、古彻学院、马里兰大学圣母大学、陶森大学和华盛顿学院。FACS技术将使教师和学生能够参与各种研究项目，包括控制DNA包装以决定细胞命运的基因表达，肠道微生物组与内分泌系统之间的相互作用，补充和替代药物对免疫的影响，重金属暴露对DNA修复和毒性的影响，以及细胞周期检查点因子在基因组完整性和程序性细胞死亡中的作用。FACS技术的加入将有助于推进这些项目的目标，允许收集更复杂和特定的分子和细胞数据，并允许根据其特定特性创建细胞系以供未来实验。此外，与初创公司和小型生物技术公司合作，有可能帮助开发新技术和治疗方法。利用FACS仪器的研究项目的结果将通过与本科生共同作者的同行评议出版物和在区域和国家科学会议上的报告传达给科学界。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An award is made to Loyola University Maryland to acquire a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) instrument to establish a new flow cytometry core facility and enhance the existing microscopy core facility. A FACS instrument is capable of measuring multiple fluorescently tagged molecular and cellular properties in cells simultaneously and separating individual cell populations according to these properties from a mixed population. This powerful technology will provide valuable training for undergraduate students enrolled in five Maryland colleges and universities, as well as undergraduate students who come to Loyola from across the US for training in research techniques each summer. In addition, Loyola will develop a summer program for underrepresented students from local area high schools to gain exposure to the FACS instrument and related research. To further engage with the local community, the cell sorter will be accessible to a business incubator for biomedical startup companies to advance research and development of novel cell-based technologies. All these activities will contribute to an enhanced scientific and technology-based environment and economy in Baltimore and the surrounding region. The flow cytometry core facility will serve to support and enrich existing faculty-led research involving undergraduate research students at multiple colleges and universities, including Loyola University Maryland, Goucher College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Towson University, and Washington College. The FACS technology will enable faculty and students to engage in varied research projects including control of DNA packaging for gene expression in determining cell fate, the interplay between the gut microbiome and the endocrine system, the effect of complementary and alternative medicines on immunity, the impact of heavy metal exposure on DNA repair and toxicity, and the role of cell cycle checkpoint factors in genome integrity and programmed cell death. The addition of the FACS technology will serve to advance the objectives of each of these projects by allowing for the collection of more complex and specific molecular and cellular data, and by allowing for the creation of cell lines specifically selected for their particular properties for future experimentation. Furthermore, there is the potential to aid in development of novel technologies and therapeutics from collaborations with startup and small biotechnology companies. Results from research projects utilizing the FACS instrument will be communicated to the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications with undergraduate co-authors and presentations at regional and national scientific conferences.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.