Multimodal Microplate Reader for Research in Microbiology and Immunology

该资助申请旨在获得一种多功能酶标仪，该仪器将由西安大略大学微生物学和免疫学系的11个高度活跃的研究实验室共享。这一设备是迫切需要的，对维持我们的集体生产力至关重要，因为所有共同申请人的实验室都大量使用这一设备。该仪器能够定量读取生物样品的荧光、发光和光密度，并能够在单个实验中并行测量许多样品。这可以在温度和大气控制条件下进行，以及对我们许多研究项目至关重要的时间过程实验。这些研究人员将利用这项技术来研究一些重要领域，包括基因调控研究，细菌如何在粘膜表面定植的机制，研究吞噬作用和蛋白质运输的细胞生物学方法，抑制HIV病毒的新方法以及免疫系统的发育方面。这些研究人员的研究成果预计将对约70名高素质人员（HQP）学员进行高级培训，为许多独立和合作研究项目做出贡献，并推动微生物和免疫系统的基础信息的发展。

This grant application is to acquire a multifunctional plate reader instrument that will be shared by eleven highly active research laboratories in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Western Ontario. This equipment is urgently needed and essential to maintain our collective productivity as it is heavily utilized by all of the co-applicants' laboratories. The instrument allows for the ability to quantitatively read fluorescence, luminescence and optical density from biological samples and is able to measure many samples in parallel within a single experiment. This can be done under both temperature and atmosphere controlled conditions, as well as with time course experiments that are critical for many of our research programs. These investigators will use this technology to study a number of important areas including gene regulation studies, mechanisms by how bacteria colonize mucosal surfaces, cell biological approaches to study phagocytosis and protein trafficking, new ways to inhibit the HIV virus, and developmental aspects of the immune system. The research produced from these investigators is expected to result in the advanced training of ~70 Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) trainees, contributing to many independent and collaborative research projects, and leading to the advancement of fundamental information for both microorganisms and the immune system.