Equipment: MRI: Acquisition of a MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometer for Supporting Interdisciplinary Microbiological Research and Education at Eastern Kentucky University

An award is made to Eastern Kentucky University to do hands-on educational outreach and research training in areas including, but not limited to, microbiology, ecology, and environmental biology. With this award of an automated mass spectrometry microbial identification system with MALDI-TOF technology, the research projects and state-of-the-art instrumentation will inspire undergraduate, masters-level, and high school students to participate in a variety of projects allowing these students to see and believe in themselves as STEM researchers.

Beyond strengthening the research infrastructure at Eastern Kentucky University and within the immediate Appalachian region, the project will increase the diversity of the STEM workforce by providing high-impact research and outreach opportunities to many underrepresented populations in STEM who attend Eastern Kentucky University and university programs. Project participants will include many low-income and first-generation students, as well as future teachers, who represent a significant proportion of the student body and their collective participation will raise the scientific literacy in Kentucky.

The project will accelerate research at Eastern Kentucky University regarding microorganisms, and will lead to more research opportunities, discoveries, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Due to the simplicity of obtaining results from environments of societal and regional interest, the project will enable the rapid identification of microorganisms, including drug-resistant microorganisms, in understudied environments.

The research will inform the broader scientific community in understanding how ecosystems neutralize, maintain, or enhance antimicrobial resistance in organisms and genes. Ultimately, the research will inform efforts aiming to understand how non-clinical environments, like streams, lakes, forests, wetlands, and livestock areas contribute to antimicrobial resistance in specific microorganisms and microbial communities.

Findings could inform watershed management practices aimed at improving human, plant, and ecosystem health.

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.