Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

This proposal requests funding for a suite of equipment and instrumentation for the purpose of building cell and tissue culture facilities on site. Cell culture is critical to all cellular and molecular biology research. Cell and tissue culture provides the capacity to study normal and pathological physiology and biochemistry of cells as well as to examine the effects of drugs and toxic compounds on cells and tissues. It is also used in drug screening and development, as well as large scale manufacturing of biological compounds such as antibodies, vaccines and plant clones. With a fully equipped tissue culture suite, we expect to develop and conduct mechanistic studies that define parameters of efficacy and toxicity for novel and existing chemical agents in vitro. The purpose of this project is to support applied learning, ongoing applied research, and to build on and enhance the capacity for industry partnered collaborative research in the areas of natural products, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.