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New ‘core’ research labs on Health Science Campus strengthen UT research programs |
| By
Jim Winkler |
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Apr 5, 2007 |
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A fluorescence-activated cell sorter may sound like an unexciting piece of machinery, but it could help cure cancer and diabetes — and The University of Toledo College of Medicine just got one for its basic scientists.
UT showed off that piece of sophisticated biomedical research equipment and other instruments in its new flow cytometry core facility during a program titled “Scientific Technology Showcase,” which was held Tuesday, April 3, in Health Education Building Room 263 on the Health Science Campus.
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| Dr. David Weaver, director of the Genomics Core Laboratory |
The new laboratory is one of four “core” facilities on the Health Science Campus. The other three, which are located in the Block Health Science Building, focus on proteomics, genomics and cellular imaging.
With all four labs, UT scientists can work on cures for the world’s deadliest diseases such as heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and AIDS.
The April 3 program featured remarks by Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, provost and executive vice president for health affairs and College of Medicine dean; exhibits by several scientific instrument manufacturers; tours of the new labs; a seminar on RNAi technology by Dr. Mitch Gore of Integrated DNA Technology, Coralville, Iowa; and a slide show on UT’s biosafety level 3 laboratory, the second-highest level, that is used for studies involving hazardous germs. Workers must don gowns, booties, masks, goggles and gloves when working in the laboratory.
Funding for the new cytometry core lab came from the College of Medicine.
“One of the College of Medicine’s top research priorities is to develop shared resources and facilities to encourage translation of basic-science discoveries into therapies for cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, and other health problems,” Gold said. “These core facilities anchor our biomedical research strategy by providing a strong infrastructure and access to specialized equipment, expertise and support that previously were not available to individual investigators or laboratories.”
Fluorescence-activated cell sorters gather or collate thousands of cells into groups in seconds, allowing scientists to identify the cells they want to study and analyze their size, shape and internal complexity. The process of looking at and identifying cells one at a time in a rapid fashion is known as flow cytometry.
The instrument eliminates the need for scientists to wade through a sea of cells trying to collect only the type they want. That’s important to researchers like Dr. Randall Worth, UT assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology, who plans to use the flow cytometry core facility for three studies.
One is aimed at learning more about the process of membrane cholesterol for binding and uptake of antibody/antigen complexes. Worth has developed tests to quantitatively measure the rate of uptake of complexes through the use of two-color flow cytometry. The new cell sorter will allow him to perform experiments on live cells over time instead of paraformaldehyde-fixed cells at defined time points.
In another study, he will use the instrument to sort cells that he has engineered to express various receptors or signal transduction molecules from the general population. After sorting, he grows cells in a culture, confident that he is examining only cells expressing molecules in which he is interested. He also will use the core facility to examine platelets from human blood samples in determining the role of platelets in lupus, an autoimmune disease.
“This is an important advance for the basic science-research programs on the Health Science Campus,” said Dr. Akira Takashima, professor and chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, where the flow cytometry facility is located.
The genomics and proteomics core labs are housed in newly renovated space in the Block Health Science Building that includes an “open-bay concept” rather than lab rooms for individual researchers. Researchers share a large room that contains movable lab modules and benches. The benefit of this setup is that space is divided according to need and funding, and can be moved around and changed easily.
The cell-imaging core lab, which opened last year and is directed by Dr. David Allison, professor of surgery, makes high-resolution images to track molecules as they travel in and out of a cell.
Takashima said the labs reflect a new effort to grow basic science and clinical research at UT. The labs are filled with sophisticated equipment that improves the ability of researchers to study diseases and will encourage basic scientists to work more closely together in ways that may benefit the entire state. Success in research is often a result of scientists with different perspectives and approaches coming together to solve critical problems.
The core facilities also will aid the recruitment of cutting-edge researchers to the University and will assist researchers in getting the kind of preliminary data that could help attract more grant funding.
Despite the focus of the new labs on high-level research, Takashima expects undergraduate and graduate students will benefit as well.
“When scientists are engaged in cutting-edge research, they also are improving educational quality as well because students are being exposed to the latest research technologies from the best teachers,” he said.
The vendors are B&B Microscopes, BD Biosciences, DAI Scientific, Fisher Scientific, Integrated DNA Technologies, Mager Scientific, Perkin Elmer and Shimadzu Biotech.
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