Infrastructure Upgrades for Nano and Biotechnology Research at the LSU Agricultural Center

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

This award provides renovated laboratory infrastructure for the conduct of nano and molecular biotechnology research in the Wilson Laboratories at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Agricultural Center. The Wilson Laboratories, where the renovation will take place, were originally constructed in 1961. Although several portions of the building have been renovated over the years, appropriate laboratory facilities to support newer research areas are not available.

Intellectual Merit: The renovation will create three new laboratories: Nanotechnology (with a clean room), Protein Chemistry, and Tissue Culture. The renovations include new casework, interior finishes, fume hoods, a Class 1000 clean room, and de-ionized water system. These facilities will accelerate research in areas such as gene and drug delivery, plant-derived bioactive compounds, antimicrobial nanoparticle synthesis, molecular dynamics simulation of protein function, cell based biosensors, BioMEMS, photoactivated gene silencing, and development of C. elegans as a biomedical model.

Broader Impacts: The renovated facility will serve as research laboratories for researchers and students in the LSU Agricultural Center, as well as for satellite and collaborating institutions throughout the region. In addition, the renovated facility will promote broader impact by serving as a central resource for the LSU Agricultural Center Biotechnology Education for Student and Teachers (BEST) program, where high school teacher-student pairs work in LSU laboratories during summers to conduct hands-on research in bioetechnology. In prior years, BEST participants were scattered at various locations, so housing them in laboratories within the renovated facility will enhance not only collaboration among researchers, but also foster cross-disciplinary research as well.