An Applied Biosystems 3730 DNA Analyzer for a Core Molecular Lab at a Natural History Museum

Field Museum Of Natural History, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides partial support for purchase of a 48 capillary DNA sequencer and related software. The instrument will be placed in the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, a multi-user core facility that supplies museum curators, their students and postdocs, research scientists and visiting scientists with the equipment necessary to perform molecular work. Currently, these users account for over 35 projects in the fields of systematics, molecular evolution, population biology, and molecular ecology. An important role of the Pritzker Lab is in training of incoming scientists and students in use of the automated sequencer. Training has been offered to students from local Chicago-area Universities as well as institutions from the U.S. and around the world. This training has helped visiting researchers to set up labs in Louisiana, India, Brazil and the Philippines. In addition, the lab has been used to educate groups of local high school and undergraduate students with respect to research activities at the Museum.