Hunter College, the largest senior college of the City University of New York, is a public urban institution with a diverse student body. The College plays a vital role in providing a quality education, both graduate and undergraduate for first generation college students in New York City. One of the College's objectives is to increase the number of minority faculty who can serve as role models, since a large percentage of the student body consists of women and minorities. The Department of Biology has been very instrumental in developing young research scholars, and is emerging as a center of research excellence. In order to maintain this momentum, the research capabilities of the faculty must be enhanced, and this involves the renovating of laboratories and the creation of core facilities. Funding received from the ARI Program will be used to assist Hunter College in this endeavor by renovating a faculty research laboratory, and establishing a Bio-Imaging facility for research training in the 1940 North Building. The renovation of existing research and training space into an integrated Bio-Imaging facility and research laboratory is critical to current research involving studies of the molecular organization and the molecular interaction of cellular components, including nucleic acid-protein, protein-protein, and protein-ligand interactions. These underlie ongoing studies for gene structure and function, signal transduction, nerve regeneration, immune cell differentiation, the cytoskeleton, and neuropharmacology. The facility will provide a centralized location for the consolidation of existing bio-imaging equipment, and will provide a dedicated area where students can receive invaluable training by learning modern research techniques. This renovation project, in conjunction with Hunter's participation in the NSF Alliance for Minority Participation Program, will contribute to the institution's mission in preparing qualified scientists for the 21st century.
