This proposal is for the purchase of the CLARIOstar PLUS microplate reader that will be for the NIGMS-funded laboratory at the University of Miami School of Medicine of Dr. Emmanuel Thomas (R35GM124915). Dr. Thomas is requesting funding to cover the cost of the microplate reader. The ultra-sensitivity of the microplate reader would provide the laboratory with day-to- day capabilities to obtain large data sets of fluorescent, luminescent, and colorimetric biomarkers of cellular function related to antiviral innate immunity. The laboratory does not currently have unrestricted access to these analytic capabilities. Additional investment in the MIRA funded project led by Dr. Thomas, from the NIGMS, would enable his research group to improve and enhance their cellular analytic techniques to meet and exceed the stated and emergent research objectives. Furthermore, since the PI is a relatively new investigators only recently receiving his first NIH R grants, this additional piece of equipment would additionally support him on his established trajectory of scientific success. Dr. Thomas received his NIGMS R35 grant in 2017 with funding starting on September 10, 2017. This is Dr. Thomas' only NIH grant as PI. Given that his lab currently consists of a laboratory manager, two technicians and three graduate students, the original grant budget was distributed to cover supplies and salaries for the laboratory team that includes the PI, until August 2022. Therefore, funding from the R35 grant has already been committed to support the daily activities of the laboratory for the next 2.5 years. Given these budgetary restrictions, initially, there were no funds available in the budget to request the purchase of specialized equipment to support the research objectives of the grant. Importantly, with the R35 currently providing a solid foundation of funding for daily standard laboratory activities, there is now an emergent need for increased analytic capabilities to support the research objectives that are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. In Dr. Thomas' Laboratory, the microplate reader would be specifically used for quantitation of fluorescence, luminescence and other colorimetric assays to study the cellular interactions that control host defense to viral infection as cells differentiate from multi-potent progenitors to terminally differentiated cells.
The parent research program seeks to elucidate cell type and tissue specific molecular mechanisms that drive the progression of disease in patients with viral illnesses and to subsequently identify new targets for therapeutic invention. This grant supplement is for the acquisition of the CLARIO Star Plus microplate reader that will enable precise quantitative measurements and ultra-sensitive detection of fluorescence, luminescence and colorimetric analyses to study cellular processes. Accurate measurement of cellular processes, including quantitation of specific enzymatic activity, will provide unbridled insight into biologic function. We assert that our ability to study fundamental biologic processes, to aid in completion of our research objectives, will be greatly enhanced by the routine use of this microplate reader to validate results from other scientific approaches that will be employed.
| Asumda, Faizal Z; Hatzistergos, Konstantinos E; Dykxhoorn, Derek M et al. (2018) Differentiation of hepatocyte-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells using small molecules. Differentiation 101:16-24 |
