Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposal requests support for the purchase of a Becton-Dickenson (BD) FACS Melody cell sorter. Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorters (FACS) sort through heterogeneous suspensions of cells, typically obtained from enzymatic digestion of intact tissue or organs. The suspension of cells is distributed into separate pools of homogeneous cells, based on their expression of fluorescent proteins or their labeling with fluorescent antibodies directed at cell type-specific proteins. FACS analysis is critically important for cancer biology, immunology, developmental biology, heart, lung and blood studies, genetics, and other biomedical disciplines that involve the analysis of cell type-specific responses that cannot be studied using tissue homogenates. The instrument will be secured in a shared equipment core facility managed and supported by the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute (SMCRI) at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Full time on-site technical experts in the core facility will train new users, oversee the maintenance and calibration of the instrument, and provide user support during normal business hours. The SMCRI will purchase a service contract for years 2-5, after the 1- year warranty has ended, assuring long-term continued operation. Competitive recharge fees will be charged to users, and used to support the purchase of supplies and service contracts. The instrument will be used by eleven NIH-funded investigators (4 Major and 7 Minor) funded by 18 NIH awards within the SMCRI, as well as by junior faculty and trainees seeking to obtain NIH funding. The SMCRI does not currently own a FACS analyzer, forcing its investigators to compete for time on heavily subscribed instruments at neighboring institutions in Chicago. Prioritized access to this instrument will therefore accelerate productivity of NIH-funded projects. The highly automated functionality of this BD FACS Melody system will shorten the required daily set-up time compared with older technologies, and also shorten the time required for investigator training. These features will lower the costs to investigators and promote the training of lab members and trainees. Finally, an Advisory Committee will oversee the operation of the shared instrument, resolve any disputes that might arise with investigators, and assure that the PI files the required reports to NIH in a timely manner.
