Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The equipment suite requested in this application forms the backbone of a cell culture and analysis system that will be heavily used to support the progress of our NSERC-funded research at the CHEO Research Institute (CHEORI) and University of Ottawa. Our research requires growing (culturing) mammalian cells in the lab and using a specialized microscope to follow the cells over time, investigating how they respond to viral infection or other types of stress. The equipment we need will also be used to facilitate our research in identifying and characterizing understudied gamma-delta T cell types, which play a protective role in immunity in vertebrates. Unfortunately, our work has been hampered in the past year due to bottlenecks stemming from aging, failed, or otherwise inadequate research infrastructure. The equipment we urgently need includes a cell incubator for reliable culturing and expansion of mammalian cells grown in suspension; an automated cell counter that allows for several different assays but notably a rapid method to count live and dead cells; a versatile, easy-to-use but high-quality fluorescence microscope with AI-driven counting modules for assessing cell cultures and infections with fluorescently-labelled viruses; and a live-cell imaging system with integrated analysis modules that allows in-incubator tracking of cell growth and cell phenotypes over time for periods up to 14 days and at minute-by-minute frequency. These instruments will be housed in a core facility and will be available for use to all researchers at CHEORI as well as researchers at neighbouring institutes and the University of Ottawa. This equipment will maintain and enhance research excellence at CHEORI and provide the opportunity to new trainees to work with state-of-the-art technologies, rapidly advancing their research training and projects. Training on this equipment will give them new skills needed to be competitive in national and international job markets. Having this equipment will allow CHEORI to attract top talent at all career stages. The research it will enable is foundational understanding of vertebrate biology with a particular focus in how viruses modify cell signalling and how vertebrate immune systems function to protect the organism.