Alterations and Renovations

Mount Desert Island Biological Lab, Salisbury Cove ME

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Abstract

ALTERATIONS AND RENOVATIONS PROJECT SUMMARY Alterations and Renovations are proposed that will improve research laboratory facilities at two undergraduate institution partners in the Maine INBRE (ME-INBRE), the University of Maine Honors College (UMHC) and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC). As a result of ME-INBRE support, both institutions have experienced a significant increase in the interest level of students and faculty in biomedical research, which has created a need for increased space for faculty/student research projects and for more effective and efficient student research and research training in Comparative Functional Genomics. The requested alterations and renovations will allow these partner institutions to build on and more effectively implement INBRE-sponsored research and research training programs. To improve research training facilities at UMHC, an unfinished room will be renovated into a new research training laboratory that will be used for team-based mentored interdisciplinary research and a laboratory site for biomedical research training. The proposed Genomics Research Collaborative Laboratory (2,432 gross sq. ft.) will have adjacent laboratory spaces designed for both bench-style experimental and computational work. Requested modifications include lab casework, fume and biosafety hoods and other needed mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades. To improve research training facilities at SMCC, an unfinished wet laboratory space will be renovated to create a 120 sq. ft. Capstone Research Laboratory that will provide four dedicated bench stations for student research projects. The Capstone Research Lab will be a 15 x 8 foot enclosed room with windows, a door opening into the wet lab, and a staircase up to an open storage space with railings over the enclosed lab space. There will be four work stations along the rear wall, a sink at the end of the room, and a counter running along the windows in the front of the lab that will common space for shared equipment. The proposed alterations and renovations are vital to ME-INBRE as they will facilitate the development of new collaborative biomedical research and training opportunities on site at two Network partner institutions, one of which (UMHC) will play a lead role in establishing a new inter-institutional Genomics Research Collaborative for undergraduate research training in comparative functional genomics, and the other of which (SMCC) serves a significant number of first generation college students.