Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The objective of this proposal is to obtain an upgrade for a DNA genetic analyzer (AB 3130) that represents the core of our molecular ecology facility at Sherbrooke University. Our department has grown rapidly over recent years, resulting in a significant increase in the number researchers needing to conduct genetic analyses. As a result, under its actual configuration, our genetic analyzer is used full time and its processing capacity does not meet our research needs anymore. We are getting delays in analyses because of the long waiting list of users and this becomes a major constraint on obtaining the highest quality of data as possible. An upgrade to an AB3130xl configuration will solve this problem and help to set-up the genetic analyzer as a multi-user, interdisciplinary and centralized facility in the Department of biology. The infrastructure will support genotyping and sequencing molecular applications for five Faculty, their research teams as well as their collaborators. This upgrade will satisfy our needs for analytical capacities for several years. The requested equipment will also allow our laboratories to maintain the recruitment and training of undergraduate research assistants, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to work on our research programs. At least 50 HQP should be trained using this equipment over the next 5 years. Such training will improve their chances of obtaining a job of high quality in both private and public sectors. In summary, the upgrade for the DNA genetic analyzer is a fundamentally needed piece of equipment and our research is completely dependent on the acquisition of this equipment to remain productive and competitive at the international level.