A grant has been awarded to Dr. Peter F. Straub, Dr. Brian J. Rogerson and Dr. Karen P. York of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to setup a DNA Sequencing Facility. The new Core Genetic Analysis Facility, once established, will enable automated DNA sequencing, DNA fragment analysis and integrated computer analysis of genetic data. This facility will be used to support student undergraduate research, faculty research and to enhance teaching in the Molecular and Genetic Biosciences at Stockton College. The main instrument acquired by the grant is an automated DNA Sequencer. Other instruments useful in running the sequencing reactions, specialized software packages, and supplies have been funded to add more research capabilities to the facility. To involve large numbers of students and faculty, two collaborative demonstration projects will be supported during the first three years of the grant. The first project will use sequencing and DNA fragment analysis to fingerprint and identify bacteria in subsurface aquifers. The results will provide information helpful to the study of large-scale geothermal energy use (such as at Stockton College). The second project will generate short DNA sequences from libraries of winter flounder genes in support of fisheries research. Both of these projects invite multi-user large-scale collaboration among students and faculty and will produce knowledge that is immediately useful to the scientific community. This project has the potential to transform the way that teaching and research are performed at a primarily undergraduate college like Richard Stockton College of NJ. The grant supports a facility that focuses on collaborative student-faculty research in Genetics. These opportunities are important for training undergraduate research students since Medicine, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology have been among the most important sectors of the economy whose growth has been directly influence by the revolutionary advancement in biological technologies (like DNA sequencing) over the past twenty years.
