Recent advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have opened up new opportunities in cell biology, biochemistry, and genomics. This Major Research Instrumentation award funds the acquisition of a molecular imager to support biology and biotechnology research at Dominican University of California. The new equipment will enable Dominican University faculty to advance their own active research programs and allow the University to better integrate education and research to train the next generation of scientists. The molecular imager will support undergraduate training in six research laboratories that represent a wide range of biological research. Dr. Louie is examining mechanisms of cadmium and nickel induced gene regulation in mammalian cells to correlate expression analysis to growth, development and homeostasis. Dr. Ghosh is studying how arsenic affects gene expression in different rice cultivars. Additional projects include research on pollen germination, neuroendocrine development, and COX-2 physiology. In total, these projects will impact 35-45 students/year, and the results of these research and teaching efforts will be broadly disseminated through abstracts and peer reviewed publications, as well as by active participation of students and faculty at professional meetings.
Continued success by researchers at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) requires access to appropriate instrumentation and equipment. This NSF-MRI grant funded the acquisition of a Carestream Molecular Imager and has increased faculty access to a state-of- the-art research instrumentation at Dominican University. The Carestream Molecular Imager has been instrumental in the acquisition and analysis of molecular data and has drastically affected research and undergraduate training the University. The new molecular imager has greater sensitivity, higher image resolution and expanded analysis and experimental capabilities. During these short two years, the molecular imager has already contributed to one published paper and two poster presentations,with two pending manuscripts and many more presentations in the pipeline. Not only has the Principal Investigators used the instrument in their labs to enhance their own research productivity, they have also used it to train both graduate and undergraduate students. To date, the grant has enabled more than five Dominican faculty to expand their research capabilities and train over 34 undergraduate and three graduate research students to use the molecular imager for various molecular level analyses in their research or research methodology classes. Finally, the molecular imager has been incorporated into three upper division classes at Dominican: Bio 4410 (Molecular Biotechnology), Chem 4100 (Biochemistry I) and Chem 4500 (Biochemistry 2), where an additional 32 students have been able to use it with the guidance of the professor. The Carestream Molecular Imager has significantly increased the department’s ability to engage students in undergraduate research and to train them on state-of-the-art technology both of which are important for the success of our students and science program.
