MRI: Acquisition of a Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) System to Enable Research and Enhance Undergraduate Education at Western Washington University

Western Washington University, Bellingham WA

Investigators

Abstract

An award is made to Western Washington University (WWU) for the acquisition of a state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system. This instrument, which will be housed and maintained within a centralized instrument facility, will provide a core institutional resource for a broad range of research and teaching activities at WWU's main campus and Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC). As a primarily undergraduate institution, WWU is committed to providing the highest-level of classroom instruction, while also offering authentic research experiences for undergraduate and masters-level graduate students. The LC-MS will directly support this mission. First, it will be incorporated into multiple courses in the STEM curriculum, providing meaningful exposure to mass spectrometry for hundreds of undergraduates every year. The LC-MS will also become a key component of a collaborative project involving laboratory courses at WWU and a local community college. Finally, outside of the classroom, students involved in faculty led research will be afforded new opportunities for hands-on training in modern mass spectrometry techniques, providing them with a skill set that will be valuable when seeking employment in the scientific workforce or for pursuing advanced graduate studies. In addition to impacts on teaching and student training, the LC-MS will be transformative for numerous research programs at WWU and SPMC. Mass spectrometry is a foundational technique in the biological and chemical sciences, and is often the preferred method for confirming molecular structure or for measuring the abundance of specific compounds in complex biological and environmental samples. Examples of research efforts that will be enabled by the LC-MS include the engineering of proteins with unique biological properties, structural studies of proteins involved in blood coagulation or the maintenance of cell shape, identification and quantitation of signaling molecules and other natural products that are involved in ecological interactions and responses to environmental change, fundamental investigations of protein and gene regulation systems, and the synthesis of novel compounds. In all cases, the results of these studies will be disseminated to the broader scientific community at appropriate scientific conferences and through peer-reviewed publications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.