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

The applicants' NSERC research programs study how nutrients and other components in our diet help obtain and maintain overall health. These programs focus on changes in nutrition on metabolism and immune development of lipids, carbohydrates and vitamins on physiological changes across the lifespan. The health outcomes that are being studied by the applicants in their different research programs involve the risk of diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, allergies and complications of pregnancy. To address these important research goals the applicant's need to accurately measure small changes of compounds in blood caused by diet and disease state. The ADVIA? 2120i hematology analyzer is requested in this grant application. It is a specialized instrument that can measure changes in white and red blood cells in both humans and animal models of research, used to study basic metabolism and physiology. This state-of-the-art instrument has the unique feature to measure critical blood parameters in multiple species, including humans, mice, rats and pigs. Changes in the number, type and structure of red and white blood cells are indicators of how diet alters metabolism. This type of measurement is routinely used to monitor conditions such as infection and anemia in both humans and the animal models of research. This equipment also enables a researcher to measure the amount and physiology of whole blood including white and red blood cell counts, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils and platelets all indices healthy and normal immune responses. The ADVIA? 2120i would be the only instrument on the University of Alberta campus that has this capacity. We propose to not only use this instrument in our research programs but it will also be used to train our technicians, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students. These trainees will be employed in diverse careers in academia, industry, government and healthcare. The ADVIA? 2120i system will become part of a core nutrition facility that is run by the Nutrition Research Group in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta.