Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
19 WOODWARD HALL 9 EAST ALUMNI AVENUE
KINGSTON,RI 02881
Performing Department
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
Non Technical Summary
The University of Rhode Island has undertaken a significant effort to enhance educational, research and training capacities in the environmental and life sciences through development of state-of-the-art research and training facilities in the molecular biosciences and biotechnology. This includes the construction of a $58 million, 139,000 square foot building, the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS). The University has also made a firm commitment to enhancing institutional capacity in state-of-the-art molecular biology and biotechnology by investing in infrastructure and human capital. Basic equipment for genomics, proteomics, and imaging have been secured and are currently in use. However, additional funds are required for acquisition of instrumentation to bring the core facilities within a single building and provide University of Rhode Island principal investigators with the research tools to solve contemporary problems. Indeed, this investment will
foster novel, relevant, investigations in areas of agricultural, environmental and economic value to the state, region and nation. We seek funds from the USDA to support the acquisition of critical instrumentation and equipment to support research in the molecular biosciences. Importantly, this investment will complement work that is currently funded by the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension. Equally important the CBLS will support ongoing competitive research funded by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program, as well as other funding agencies. Specifically, we propose to purchase equipment that will complement the key foci of the building: the molecular biosciences and core facility capability. Further, the equipment use will concentrate in three general areas: sample/reagent storage, sample processing and sample analysis. The identified areas of research that this project will support include: animal and plant genomics;
aquacultural biotechnology and marine resources; disease characterization and pathogenesis; environmental genetics and physiological ecology; and vector borne diseases. Overall, these research areas address issues consistent with the goals and missions of the USDA and ultimately will lead to workforce development, contributions to the knowledge economy, increased agricultural production, community economic vitality, and enhanced relationships between agriculture and the environment.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
30%
Developmental
30%
Goals / Objectives
The primary aim of this proposal is to secure unfixed laboratory equipment to support the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS) at the University of Rhode Island. The CBLS is a $58 million (state and private funded), 139,000 square feet building currently under construction on the main campus of the University in Kingston, RI (expected opening date: January, 2009.) This facility will, in part, be dedicated to innovative research to provide solutions to the challenges posed by emerging diseases, energy independence, the need to conserve natural resources, and food security/ insecurity. The research wing of the building is constructed in a laminar configuration with core facilities and research labs contained in an outer row of the building. Research support labs (dedicated to equipment, tissue culture, microscopy, environmental chambers and growth chambers) are adjacent to the research labs and constitute a second (or inner) row in the building. (The
research equipment labs provide access to the research labs and core facilities.) A third laminate in the building is a corridor, which divides the faculty offices (fourth and outer laminate) from the research labs. The core research facilities in the CBLS include a Genomics and Sequencing Center (GSC) and Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory Complex. The Genomics and Sequencing Center will make available equipment for processing, isolating and amplifying genetic material (e.g., real time PCR, DNA sequencers, robots for nucleic acid isolation and automated sampling procedures, microarray sampler and microarray reader) as well as manipulating genetic material (e.g., micromanipulation and microinjection platforms, moveable hoods, high speed centrifuge, microscope with epifluorescence capability). The 16 research laboratories in the CBLS will support 32 research teams (principal investigator/faculty, post-docs and graduate students). These areas contain flexible benching and can be arranged to
meet the specific needs of a given scientist and her/his group. Specifically, we propose to purchase equipment that will complement the key foci of the building: the molecular biosciences and core facility capability. Further, the equipment use will concentrate in three general areas: sample/reagent storage, sample processing and sample analysis. Finally, the equipment to be secured through this proposal will support ongoing and future projects supported by the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station/Cooperative Extension (RI Land Grant Programs) and the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Research Grants Program, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation as well as non-profit organizations, foundations, and agencies. The identified areas of current research at the University of Rhode Island that this project will support includes: animal and plant genomics; aquacultural biotechnology and marine resources; disease characterization and
pathogenesis in animals; environmental genetics and physiological ecology; and vector borne diseases.
Project Methods
We propose to purchase equipment that will support a research focus in the molecular biosciences and intend to place the equipment into either the core facilities or research support labs. The equipment will be purchased shortly after the opening of the CBLS, which is expected in January 2009. The equipment that we propose to purchase falls into three use categories: sample/reagent storage; sample processing and sample analysis. The sample/reagent storage equipment includes: ultralow temperature freezers (Research support lab-equipment), explosion proof laboratory refrigerators (Research support lab-equipment), and laboratory freezers (Research support lab-equipment). The sample processing equipment includes: incubators (Research support-tissue culture lab), electroporators (Core facility-GSC), ultra centrifuge and associated rotors (Core facility-GSC), superspeed centrifuge (Core facility-GSC), shaking incubator (Research support lab-equipment), moveable Class II
biosafety cabinets (Research support-tissue culture lab), ultra pure water systems (Research support lab-equipment) and ice machines (Research support lab-equipment). Sample analysis equipment includes: a UV/Vis scanning spectrophotometer (Core facility-GSC), Nanodrop (Core facility-GSC), digital photodocumentation units (Core facility-GSC), and Quantitative PCR (Core facility-GSC).