Tuesday, May 7, 2024
5/7/2024
PROJECT SUMMARY Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) has 40 research labs specializing in cancer, children’s health, stem cells, degenerative diseases of aging, as well as infectious and other diseases. Many recent advances in medical research and healthcare rely on the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Recently, advances in functional genomic technologies have provided an unprecedented opportunity to understand fundamental mechanisms underlying diseases initiation, progression, and relapse. Thus, these technologies hold great promise in the identification of novel targets and innovative treatments. In order to remain cutting-edge, the SBP Functional Genomics Core Facility seeks funding to acquire the Beckman Coulter Biomek i7 Hybrid automated workstation. This fully automated system, with 8 independent pipettes and interchangeable 96 and 384-multichannel liquid handling platforms, will replace our existing outdated, underperforming Hamilton Microlab STAR (2005 model year, 96-well platform) and Agilent Bravo (2010 model year, 384-well platform) equipment. Even after expensive software and hardware upgrades, both the Hamilton STAR and Agilent Bravo models will still fall short of automating the desired library preparation and screening workflows demanded by the NIH-funded projects that are currently being supported by our core facility. A key part of this enhancement is the production and screening of large-scale arrayed CRISPR libraries, which enables a wide variety of new scientific approaches not possible with pooled or small-scale arrayed CRISPR library analysis. In contrast to the Hamilton STAR and Agilent Bravo, the new Biomek i7 enables streamlined automation of multiple continuous pipelines and mitigates capacity limitations. Designated pipelines include high- throughput production of bacteria, viral vector plasmids, recombinant viruses, and mammalian cell cultures, as well as cell-based phenotypic screening and assay processing, which can be accomplished on a 96/384-well platform. This application is supported by eight major SBP users with active NIH-funded projects. As stated in the application, the projects of all eight major users - together accounting for 77% of the Biomek i7’s available use time (AUT) - will greatly benefit from the Biomek i7 automation to advance their proposed studies in diverse human disease research topics including cancer, aging, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and COVID-19.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
