MRI: Acquisition of a Flow Cytometer for Multiparametric Analysis of Environmental, Microbial, and Aquatic Samples at UC Merced.

An award has been made to the University of California at Merced under the direction of Dr. Marcos Garcia-Ojeda for the acquisition of a flow cytometer for use in environmental research and teaching. The instrument will allow researchers to sort cells in samples from microbial communities and marine water samples for further study. The research will include studies of corals and their algal symbionts, antibiotic resistance in bacteria, composition of phytoplankton in seawater, and cell differentiation in vascular systems. The university has a large fraction of ethnic minorities in its student body and a large proportion of science majors, and the new instrument will benefit their coursework and research projects. The instrument will enhance the research infrastructure of this new and growing campus in the Central Valley of California.