We request funds to purchase multiple instruments that will increase the throughput capacity of the DNA Analysis Facility on Science Hill (DAFSH) at Yale University. Currently DAFSH is functioning as a medium-throughput, fee-for-service and non-profit Core Facility offering DNA Sequencing and multiple Fragment Analysis services to Yale Researchers and the broader scientific community. Upgrading our equipment will allow us to effectively serve increasing demands from several research laboratories with NIH funded projects. This group of scientists'works within a diverse array of health related fields with well-established track records using DNA based approaches. Although there is a larger DNA Sequencing core facility on campus, DAFSH provides services, such as microsatellite analysis, which are not available in any other core facility at Yale or in the surrounding area, catering to small and medium sized laboratories. The infrastructure for successfully managing current equipment is well established with experienced personnel dedicated to its operation and maintenance ensuring its longevity. The facility is directed by an NIH sponsored investigator and it is located within her laboratory, which serves also as a research and training facility sponsored by the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS). This ensures on-site experienced help that provides troubleshooting and training of new users, if needed. The Yale Shared Science Service Branch, which oversees all business matters of Science Departments, provides administrative and financial assistance. Currently the limiting factor in our Core Facility is the processing speed and throughput capacity of the ABI 3730 DNA Analyzer. Upgrading the Facility offers several practical advantages to all of our major and minor users, including decreased rates and faster delivery of data. By promoting access to the equipment to additional Yale and non-Yale research groups we enhance cost effectiveness, reducing idle time and avoiding wasted consumables. This in turn allows us to reduce rates and make the services available to users that could otherwise not afford it. The increased capacity we seek to obtain by acquiring the requested equipment will enable this group of NIH investigators to gain more data on their research projects than with the resources presently available to each of them. Simply put, it ensures a better return in terms of what each researcher can achieve with their NIH funds.
By processing samples in a centralized non-profit core facility the major users can collect quality data at a cheaper rate than possible if using either commercial companies or doing the DNA analyses on their own. This reduces the economical and labor commitments of investigators, which can concentrate on less technical aspects of their public health related projects. The fact that the facility employs and trains several undergraduates also has a long-lasting impact in health related fields, since it exposes future generations of NIH researchers to DNA based genomic research in health related areas.
