The Harbor-UCLA Initiative for Minority Student Development (IMSD), initially funded in 1998, represents a successful partnership between a research-intensive institution (Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute - REI) with an education-focused state university (California State University Dominguez Hills - CSUDH) which has a predominantly underrepresented minority student body. The current proposal seeks support for equipment that will enhance the research activities of REI mentors involved in programs designed to train minority students for careers in biomedical research. The items of equipment were selected because of their immediate utility to multiple research groups with the potential to enhance research training opportunities for students working with these mentors and their research groups. Careful consideration was given to a """"""""value added"""""""" approach in some instances, in which equipment sought will enhance the capabilities of equipment already on campus, rather than providing entirely new equipment. The advantage of this approach is that the expertise is already in place to maximize the potential use of this additional equipment. Requested are four major items of equipment: 1) Digital Imaging System and a Leica Light Microscope; 2) Affymetrix 428 TM Array Scanner and Jaguar TM Software 1.0; 3) Leica Inverted Microscope with incubator platform for long-term live-cell imaging; 4) Sensormedics Indirect Calorimeter. Each of these items will directly assist in the training of IMSD (and other NIGMS-funded) students. Institutional support is given in the form of General Clinical Research Center assistance in purchasing one item, commitments to support maintenance costs for the items and provision of space (with necessary alterations) to house the equipment.
