This proposal requests funds for the purchase of a Coulter Altra flow cytometer with cell sorting capability. This application arises from a need for flow cytometric services among a user group of 15 investigators from five of the eight basic science departments at Forsyth. These investigators' needs for cell sorting (46% of estimated usage) and multiparameter analysis functions are not satisfied by the obsolete EPICS V instrument currently in place. Other facilities in the vicinity are either not available to our investigators or are used to maximum capacity. The participants in this application represent a majority (12 out of 22) of the NIH-funded investigators at this institution, and the projects that will benefit from the new instrument represent a majority of the NIH grants (15 out of 28) awarded to Forsyth. The requested instrument will thus assure optimal use of much of the existing NIH support to investigators, including six of the eight assistant-level members of the Forsyth faculty. Use of the instrument will be coordinated by an advisory committee through a group of four coordinating investigators with extensive experience in flow cytometry. These four coordinators will account for just over half of the estimated hours of use, and their expertise will be leveraged to allow other investigators to enhance their research projects through the introduction of cytometric analysis and sorting techniques. Forsyth has expressed a firm commitment to the support and maintenance of this instrument in terms of space, computer and networking support, and provision of service contracts.
