This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Delaware INBRE Annual Progress Report (APR) 2006 Grant No. 2P20RR016472-2006 Shared Research Instrumentation Core The Delaware INBRE Shared Research Instrumentation Core provides shared, largely centralized instrumentation located at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and at several departments of the University of Delaware to researchers throughout the statewide network. Individual, smaller biomedical research and training laboratories are now in place at each of the academic partner institutions. The Research Instrumentation Centers are in place and operated by a cadre of highly qualified staff scientists. Utilization of these facilities continues to grow with researches throughout the network. During Year 2 of the INBRE program, evaluation mechanisms were put in place to track the usage and growth of these shared facilities. Regular meetings were established among the directors of the Core Centers to share common operating strategies. Core Center fee waivers, partially funded by the INBRE grant, provide support for faculty and student researchers to access a center to establish baseline data sets for grant development or to launch student projects. The Delaware INBRE supported workshops for faculty, graduate students, and other researchers, to introduce them to available capabilities within the Network. The continuing focus for the Core Centers is on implementing best management practices to ensure efficient operation and on the long-term sustainability of these facilities. The Research Instrumentation Centers in the Delaware INBRE include: Instrumentation Center -- Core Center Staff - -2005 User Base [# of Faculty Groups] Bioimaging Kirk Czymmek, PhD, Elizabeth Adams, PhD, Deborah Powell, BS 48 Bioinformatics Douglas O Neal, PhD, Leo Genyuk, MS, Eric Garrison, MS, 17 DNA Sequencing & Genotyping Brewster Kingham, MS 42 Mass Spectrometry John Dykins, MS 6 Microarray Dianne York, MS 11 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Steve Bai, PhD, Heather Egolf-Fox, BS 10 Plant Growth Chambers Robert Pekala, AME 10 Protein Production & Analysis Yu-Sung Wu, PhD, Angel Huang, MS 12 Accomplishments of the Instrumentation Core in Year 2 include: 1) A statewide research infrastructure of biomedical Core Center facilities with state-of-the-art instrumentation and professional staff is in place. 2) A new Core Center Web Portal (www.dbi.udel.edu/coreinstrumentation.html) is now available for faculty and students in the INBRE Network to locate research resources. The Core Center Web Portal describes available instrumentation, lists contact information for Core Center directors and staff, and provides pricing information for services. 3) Core Center Directors of several Core Centers at UD and DBI volunteered their time to help teach a key course in the Biotechnology Program at Delaware State University. In the 2005-2006 academic year, five seniors in Biotechnology needed an instrumentation course to fulfill their requirements for graduation in May 2006. Dianne York, Microarray Core Center Manager, acts as the course coordinator. She developed the syllabus and worked with the other core directors to arrange a schedule of lectures, and laboratory work, and coordinates the content and administering of the exams. This unique course is organized in a workshop format. 4) A Core Center Open House was held at DBI on November 11, 2005. The Open House event included presentations by all Core Center directors and was followed by tours and demonstrations in the labs. Over 30 attendees from across the Network attended the event. Based on the positive feedback, this event will now be held on an annual basis. 5) A Microarray Printing Workshop was conducted on January 18/19, 2006 by the Microarray Core Center. The workshop was fully book, and eight faculty and student researchers, form several partner institutions participated in the workshop. Based on the very positive evaluation, a follow-up workshop is in the planning stages. 6) In May 2005, DBI hosted an Introduction to Three Major Genome Browsers, presented by OpenHelix. The daylong workshop offered both an overview and hands-on session featuring the Ensembl Genome Browser, the UCSC Genome Browser, and the NCBI Map Viewer. 7) Several training workshops were conducted by the Bioimaging Core Center to introduce new imaging instrumentation, including a new Bioforce Microscope and a new Laser Tweezer option for the INBRE-funded Laser Capture Microdissection instrument. 8) The Bioinformatics Center is in the process of finalizing a software portal to ease access to the considerable computing resources for all members of the INBRE Network. This portal will allow users to submit new computing jobs into the computing server queue and also to improve access a broad set of life sciences and biomedical software programs available. 9) Core Center Directors meet on a bi-monthly basis to discuss best practices for common issues such as scheduling, billing, advertising, and joint workshops. 10) Professional education of scientific Core Center staff members continued through attendance at regional and national conferences and at internal workshops. 11) A Core Center Fee Waiver program is partially supported by the INBRE to provide free access for new researchers to the Core Centers for developmental projects that lead to the creation of baseline data for future grant proposals. 12) The partner institutions in the INBRE network added the following research instrumentation in Year 2: a) The University of Delaware added capability in the Bioimaging and Bioinformatics Centers, including: A Critical Point Dryer for FESEM sample preparation. This system provides the capability to prepare biological samples for imaging on the FESEM and maintain the cellular integrity of the sample through the drying process. This system has greatly expanded the user base on our FESEM. Additional memory modules to the Sun Biowolf Compute Cluster (96 GBs). This upgrade increases the performance of the cluster, with a much higher throughput of genomics searches. b) Delaware State University completed installation a major upgrade to the campus-wide IT structure, by securing Membership in the Internet 2 consortium as a Sponsored Participant. This capability, facilitated through a close collaboration between DSU and UD, will provide high-speed connectivity to departments and research facilities across the DSU campus. c) Delaware Technical & Community College purchased equipment to improve instruction in the Allied Health program and in the Sciences. This equipment includes: treadmills, ventilation analysis equipment, physics lab equipment, microscopes, balances, computers, chemistry and biology lab equipment d) Wesley College purchased instrumentation to expand undergraduate research experiences. This instrumentation will provide analysis techniques previously unavailable as well as training and presentation tools to provide this information to a broader audience within Wesley. This includes upgrades and software updates for the bioinformatics systems lab, laboratory setup for a new faculty member, and improved Internet connectivity to the campus.
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