This application requests funds to purchase the BD Biosciences FACS Canto flow cytometer for the Laboratory for Cellular and Tissue Engineering (LCTE) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The instrument will be used to replace a 12 year old BD Biosciences FACS Sort cytometer that has required frequent servicing that at times has impacted the functioning of the laboratory. This instrumentation will allow the laboratory to continue to serve its users well into the future and to expand functionality to allow six-color flow cytometry. The LCTE is a CLIA, CAP, and FACT-compliant core facility supported by the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Center for AIDS Research, and the Sickle Cell Center. The LCTE provides a platform for translation of promising cellular therapy (including gene-modified cellular therapy) protocols for UAB investigators. The facility provides support from the earliest level of preclinical development to the preparation of clinical grade materials and submission of INDs. Many cell products that are generated in the LCTE are prepared in a clean room environment. The current flow cytometer is located in an adjacent laboratory with a pass-through to the clean suites allowing immediate on-site analysis and consultation with the team that is preparing the graft. Since the graft engineering work often requires multiple steps with flow cytometric analysis required prior to critical decisions during processing, transport of the specimens to another facility for analysis would unnecessarily prolong the processing and potentially compromise the product. In addition, when the LCTE cytometer is not being used for cellular graft evaluation, it is available for overflow work from the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Center for AIDS Research, and the Brain Tumor SPORE NIH-funded investigators that require a 51 OK approved instrument in a CLIA-approved laboratory for their protocols. The Principal Investigator has recently been funded by the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation to undertake a major expansion of the LCTE to include protocols for somatic cell therapy, myocardial regeneration, gene therapy for sickle cell disease, dendritic cell and regulatory cell therapy for autoimmune disorders, and bone regeneration. These protocols, in addition to existing hematopoietic cell therapy and immunotherapy trials nearing approval, will substantially increase the number of users over the next two years. The laboratory will require an instrument that will serve the laboratory in the development and execution of advanced cell therapy trials. ? ?
