Equipment: MRI Track 1: Acquisition of Flow Cytometer

An award is made to Northern Kentucky University, a primarily undergraduate institution, for the acquisition of a Miltenyi Biotec MACSQuant VYB digital benchtop flow cytometer for their Biology and Chemistry teaching laboratories, faculty research capabilities, and undergraduate research training. Current undergraduate students will have access to this innovative and sophisticated technology to answer research questions in neuroscience, immunology, microbiology, and biochemistry.

This instrumentation will enhance outreach programs with regional high school students by providing exposure to advanced research equipment and methodology. The flow cytometer will generate detailed biological data that students may use for training on data organization and analysis.

The flow cytometer expands research opportunities for faculty studying neuroscience, immunology, aquatic microbiology, and the mechanics of gene expression. All research faculty at Northern Kentucky University work closely with undergraduate students as research assistants in their laboratories and undergraduate students receive hands-on experience with all instrumentation.

The instrumentation acquired through this award will allow faculty and students to answer questions related to brain development, genome quantification in eukaryotic algae, immune responses to novel vaccine vectors, and the molecular machinery of protein translation. The flow cytometer allows students to access and to analyze complex data sets that they will generate through experiential learning.

Data generated using this machine will be disseminated to the public via presentations and peer-reviewed publications. The expansion of research infrastructure at Northern Kentucky University is critical to the mission of a student-centered education and graduates that contribute to the region in meaningful ways.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.