Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

<p>This application is to request funding for the purchase of a new Flow Cytometer with a High Throughput sampler that allows data acquisition in a 96-well format. The University of Ottawa Flow Cytometry &amp; Virometry Core Facility (FCV) has witnessed a massive surge in users requiring flow cytometry for their research. Flow cytometry was once a tool specific to the field of immunology, but it has recently evolved into a powerful multidisciplinary technology for all life sciences. Use of the FCV has increased 428% since 2008, with an expected increase in 2015 to a staggering 484% over 2008 levels. Usage of this facility is poised to further increase in 2016 with the creation of the new Translational and Molecular Medicine (TMM) undergraduate flow cytometry course. The current workhorse cytometer of the FCV is a 6-year old Beckman Coulter CyAN ADP9 analyzer that was used for 2024 hours in 2014-2015, representing constant use for 39 hours a week, every week of the year. Such unusually heavy usage has prematurely aged the instrument resulting in frequent breakages that necessitate service calls. Frequent instrument failure causes frustrating disruptions to data acquisition and occasional sample loss by scientists. Additionally, Beckman Coulter no longer supports its IntelliCyt high throughput sampler. Use of this essential feature will therefore be lost with the upcoming and inevitable upgrade to the Windows 10-compatible Summit data acquisition software. Finally, intense usage of the CyAN ADP9 makes it increasingly challenging for researchers to book time on the instrument. This is a situation of particular concern and a major source of decreased productivity for principal applicant Dr. Sad and co-applicant Dr. Kaern who have together used flow cytometry for a combined time of 466 hours in the 2014-2015 fiscal year (23% of the total instrument usage). There are also 10 other local researchers that hold an NSERC Discovery Grant that make use of the FCV and who would directly benefit from increased accessibility to a flow cytometer.<br /> <br /> Due to the ever rising research demands for new flow cytometry-based technologies, to new Faculty members being recruited that require flow cytometry, in addition to crucial instrument time needed to train students and research personnel on these flow cytometers, we are requesting funds to purchase a new workhorse flow cytometer. The purchase of an additional cytometer would increase instrument availability, provide an alternative when the other analyzers require service, and also increase research capabilities and productivity for NSERC researchers and for the members of the University of Ottawa research community. These include undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research associates and technicians. Overall, there is an urgent need for an additional flow cytometer to support the current research programs at the Faculty of Medicine.</p>