A grant has been awarded to The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey under the direction of Dr. Brian Rogerson for the acquisition of a quantitative gene detection and expression system. This acquisition project will enhance the capabilities of our Core Molecular Analysis Facility, which is being used to support undergraduate student research, faculty research and teaching in the biology and chemistry programs, as well as collaborative research efforts with investigators outside the college.
Research projects that will benefit from this technology include: (1) The examination of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis adaptive response to life in the lungs of infected mouse hosts exhibiting different levels of resistance (Dr. Rogerson), (2) the study of pollution effects on gene expression in winter flounder (Dr. Straub), a project that is being carried out in support of local fisheries research and that will compare individual fish from the highly pollution-impacted Raritan/Hudson Estuary with less impacted sites, and (3) the study of protein phosphatase 2A, a highly conserved cellular enzyme, and its role in regulating gene expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Dr. York). This instrumentation will also allow gene expression experiments to be more easily integrated into upper level laboratory courses such as Biotechnology (Dr. Straub), Molecular Genetics (Dr. York) and Developmental Biology (Dr. Herlands).
Addition of a quantitative sequence detection system to our undergraduate research laboratories is part of our continuing effort to provide relevant training opportunities for students that will prepare them for jobs in the technology sector or prepare them for graduate and professional training. This will help us fulfill one of the goals of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. This project is expected to contribute to our understanding of: (1) bacterial adaptation to the immune response in mammals, (2) biomarkers for surveying fish habitats for suitability, production or degree of contamination, and (3) how model organisms such as yeast can shed light on basic cellular processes such as gene regulation. This acquisition project will also help maintain our core facility as a focal point for collaboration with researchers at other institutions.
