The High Throughput Screening Core Facility (HTSC) at the University of Kansas (KU) seeks to acquire a Hamamatsu FDSS 7000 functional drug discovery screening system, a novel imaging based plate reader with fluorescent and luminescent capabilities for use in ion channel and G protein coupled receptor (GPCRs) research. Several disease states are related to dysfunction in ion channels and GPCRs, and image based plate readers have become the industry standard for use in this area of research. At present, faculty at the KU Lawrence campus and the Medical Center in Kansas City do not have the ability to conduct cutting edge, GPCR and ion channel research afforded by the FDSS7000, as no such instrumentation is available anywhere in the state of Kansas, or in the neighboring states of Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska. KUHTSC has achieved national prominence among academic HTS centers because of its eminent staff with industrial experience and open service policy. A number of researchers from institutions across the Heartland of America depend on the KUHTSC to provide critical research and screening support. The FDSS 7000 would be of great assistance to faculty whose research does not necessarily require HTS as well. KUHTSL aids researchers in assay development and high through put screening. The core facility serves as an educational resource for researchers, providing needed training in HTS technology and experimentation. Acquisition of the FDSS7000 system would bolster our ongoing efforts in developing novel methods of biological analysis for Kansas researchers in multiple departments and campuses across a substantial diversity of research groups. It would also propel existing projects into active drug discovery programs involving high throughput screening of compound libraries. This core workstation will enable Kansas researchers to become significantly more competitive for external funding. This acquisition would complement our goals of a sustained coordinated effort to enhance multidisciplinary basic research related to the biological sciences across academic Kansas campuses. This system will help facilitate the hiring of bright, new investigators with innovative research projects. The broad, long term objectives of this application include research plans by multiple KU and KUMC faculty to develop novel projects around the technology afforded by the FDSS 7000 system. Our vision for the HTS core facility provides an avenue for a thriving research enterprise at KU, and helps in attracting and cultivating top research talent at KU and other Kansas State institutions.
