Donald Walker

Donald.Walker@mtsu.edu

Dennis Mullen

Biology

Discipline specific equipment

SCI2050 - no construction or renovation will be needed.

N/A

N/A

The Science Building provides access to a single microplate reader instrument. However, we support students from the Physician’s Assistant Program, Nursing School, Agriculture, Computer Science, Forensic Biology, General Education, the Biology MSc, and Molecular Biosciences (MOBI) PhD programs. The microplate reader is a critical piece of equipment for training both graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge molecular and microbiological techniques. The Science Building is a stop during campus visits by the Blue Elite Tour Guides. The research labs that house the microplate reader have glass walls to ‘show off’ equipment and attract prospective students. Our current microplate reader is outdated (~8 years old) and overbooked, hindering academic progress. The Biology Department supports 10 sections of microbiology labs (BIOL 2231), accounting for 200-240 students in fall and spring semesters, and 2 summer sections (40-48 students). Microbiology students use the plate reader for a multi-well plate physiological identification. We support Immunology (BIOL 4301) students in fall, spring and summer (60-72 students), who each use the plate reader for an ELISA assay. Genetics (BIO3250/4450/4460/5460/6450) and Biotechnology (BIOL4450) classes use this instrument and account for 8-10 sections per year (280 students total). The MOBI PhD and Biology MSc students (~40-45 students) often require multi-day experimental runs on the microplate reader, which makes booking and sharing with course needs almost impossible. We are requesting to purchase a second plate reader to meet the academic development of undergraduate students and research progress of graduate students in the Science Building.