Proposal

Narrative

We are requesting $71,610 to purchase a DNA sequencer and 2-day onsite installation with user training. This purchase will grant up to ~1,200 combined biology undergraduate and graduate students per calendar year direct access to state-of-the-art sequencing technology. ~Usage (enrollments) by course/calendar year: Tiny Earth–RI Life Science Lab (400) Discovery of Novel Antibiotics (50) Microbial Community Analysis (25) General Microbiology Lab (300) Lab Methods in Biotechnology (20) Plant Physiology Lab (24) Undergraduate DIR (270) Graduate Research (150) The purchase will allow students to analyze DNA samples in house directly, generating publishable data, rather than send them to an external company as is currently done. This unit is unique in that it 1) is simple to use and so can be used by students directly and 2) can be used across campus locations (see Facilities). Data produced by students in these courses will be shared with courses throughout our department for use by all our majors. As such, the true number of students to benefit from this purchase is far larger than listed here. Although biologists worldwide routinely use DNA sequencing to conduct their research, it is rare for students to have direct access to this technology in a university setting; it is even more unusual for use of this technology to be integrated into undergraduate courses. In addition to enhancing their knowledge, laboratory skills, and analytical skills and giving students a technical edge over non-FAU peers, it will also give them a window into how technologies like DNA sequencing are populating our increasingly large and varied pools of “big data” and increase the variety and scope of the research questions they can explore at FAU. This versatile unit can also be used to perform DNA barcoding, transcriptomic, metagenomic and whole genome analyses.

Facilities

Sufficient space, power, and network access/connectivity for the unit already exists on FAU's Davie campus where the equipment will be housed and within the classrooms in which the unit would be used. The equipment will be located on the FAU Davie campus in the Davie West building, room 446A and maintained by Dr. Vanessa Fernandes and Lab Supervisor Cristina de la Rosa. Dr. Cavallo will partner with Dr. Fernandes regarding course access across campus locations. The system allows for sample preparation to be completed at any campus location and/or off campus, in the field, and then transported to the unit for sample reading. The equipment is also small and portable, so the system itself could also be moved between classrooms and campus locations if desired.

Hardware Requirements

The hardware consists of two components, lines one and three within the quote attached under Supporting Documentation ($49,955 + $10,455). This equipment has an integrated computer, which requires minimal IT infrastructure. The minimum IT requirements, a computer monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, will be met by Dr. Fernandes.

Software Requirements

Nanopore sequencer purchases come with a one year associated software license. Beyond one year, the software license will be funded ongoingly by lab fees collected from students enrolled in courses utilizing the technology (as a consumable) as is already done in other FAU courses that utilize specialized software such as SAS. The software license is indicated within lines one and three ("License and Warranty") of the attached quote (see Supporting Documentation). Although the license is listed twice on the quote (as associated with each of the two hardware components), we are paying one fee for a single license to be used with the complete system.

Personnel Costs

We are requesting funds to purchase a two-day onsite installation with user training and certification from the equipment vendor. The training will cost $10,000 ($5,000 discount off $15,000); see attached quote. This value will include full training on equpiment and software as well as certification for five FAU users. Training and certification will be made accessible to key, direct instructors who will use the equipment in the classroom with undergraduate students. These five trained, certified FAU instructors will subsequently develop and share curricula and related protocols for use with system and provide training and support to other FAU users .

Other Costs

Shipping: $1,200

Timeline

Equipment will be ordered immediately upon receipt of funds. Setup will progress rapidly after receipt of equipment. Assuming no delays due to availability of parts and/or the vendor's setup/training availability, the unit will be up and running within the semester in which it is purchased. The vendor states that we should expect to receive the equipment approximately two weeks after placing the order.

Sustainability

Equipment maintenance and consumables will be funded ongoingly by equipment fees and lab fees collected from students enrolled in courses utilizing the technology. Data generated by these students will also be shared with students enrolled in courses which do not collect lab fees for practice in data assembly and analysis at no additional costs. Student researchers not enrolled in lab fee generating courses (e.g., graduate students enrolled in thesis and dissertation research credits) wishing to use the equipment as part of their research projects will need to purchase the consumables required to process their samples (through and with their graduate advisors) as they would purchase any other research consumables for use in any of their projects.

Resource Matching

The minimum IT requirements (a computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse) will be met by Dr. Fernandes.

Implementing Organization

The project will be implemented by the Department of Biological Sciences.