A
new high-tech addition to the university allows TCU professors in
several departments and colleges to perform important scientific and
biomedical research that formerly had to be sent out to a laboratory
for testing.
The device, a DNA sequence analyzer, was
purchased through Vision in Action’s Strategic Initiative Fund and a
grant from medical equipment manufacturer LI-COR. Biology Professor
Phil Hartman, who along with College of Science and Engineering Dean
Michael McCracken was instrumental in securing the funds, said the
sequence analyzer will be a valuable hands-on teaching tool, as well as
a recruiting tool to attract more high-quality researchers to the
university.
“Obtaining this new equipment is a real coup for our
college and TCU as a whole,” Hartman said. “It will allow current and
future professors to more readily accomplish their research objectives.
It will also impact us as educators, given that the instrumentation
will be used in graduate and advanced undergraduate classes.
“Beyond
the specifics of DNA sequencing, I think this represents yet another
tangible step in Dean McCracken’s ongoing efforts to provide an
infrastructure that nurtures the teacher-scholar model.”
Professors
in biology, chemistry, nursing and psychology all have plans to use the
equipment to further their research. One of those professors is biology
Assistant Professor Giri Akkaraju, who will use the analyzer to examine
the genetic sequence of the Hepatitis C virus. The research could lead
to a way to prevent Hepatitis C and decrease its link to certain
cancers.
New DNA analyzer boon to TCU researchers.