Funding from the Academic Research Infrastructure Program will enable Ferris State University to renovate research space to support the Department of Biology's need to provide modernized laboratories for faculty research and research training in biotechnology. This project is part of a larger effort to renovate the 38 year old Science Building. Inadequate facilities have been an impediment to current investigations focusing on four major areas of study: (1) near-ultraviolet light radiation damage, (2) cytokine regulation, (3) free sterols in the interorgan lipid transport system in the snail, and (4) mitochronrial ATP synthase and cholorplast ATP synthase. Due to inefficient space, few students can enroll in the biotechnology program, thus limiting opportunities for them to learn techniques in recombinant DNA, protein purification procedures, cell and tissue culture and immunology. The lack of adequate research space has discouraged faculty to establish long-term programs that involve undergraduates. Funds will be used to reconfigure laboratories, update electrical and plumbing systems, and provide a centralized area for equipment. Fixed equipment consisting of fume hoods, casework, benches and storage cabinets will be installed to improve research utility. More efficient space for faculty members and students, as they conduct various experiments, will be accessible once renovations are completed. In addition to expanding research opportunities for eight faculty members and forty students, the project will strengthen the department's ability to compete for extramural support, and eliminate the need for faculty to seek summer research appointments off campus. Improved laboratory space will enhance the quality of the biotechnology research training program, and provide a foundation for a research honors program.
