The $4.3 million scientific equipment grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases "will translate into a substantial impact on research productivity and pandemic preparedness at UAB and beyond," said Sixto M. Leal Jr., M.D., Ph.D.The COVID pandemic and recent monkeypox outbreak have highlighted the urgent need for new research in infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness. UAB scientists will have a new arsenal of state-of-the-art, high-end technology for their investigations through a $4.3 million scientific equipment grant to UAB from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“UAB has the facilities, tools, technology and training that are allowing us to safely work with SARS-CoV-2, influenza, tuberculosis, dimorphic molds and more,” said Sixto M. Leal Jr., M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pathology, director of Clinical Microbiology at UAB Hospitals and director of the UAB Fungal Reference Laboratory. “The equipment we will receive through this grant will be a major step forward for our investigators, and advance work that has the potential to improve the lives of Alabamians and people around the world.”
The new equipment will be purchased and installed over the next 12 months. Highlights of the technology, Leal says, include a Zeiss Lattice Lightsheet 7 Microscope, which represents a major advance in extended live-cell imaging (see a full list of equipment below). The microscope is capable of recording the details of subcellular structures and dynamics for up to three days. “That allows you to incubate cells and image them with fluorescence for an extended period, giving a very detailed look at subcellular activity with little to no phototoxicity or bleaching,” Leal said.
The Zeiss Lattice Lightsheet 7 Microscope is capable of recording the details of subcellular structures and dynamics for up to three days. Photo: ZEISS
The Agilent (Biotek) Cytation 10 High-Throughput Plate Reader enables dynamic and automated imaging of live cells and quantification of various experimental readouts — including absorbance, fluorescence and luminescence — which “makes this ideal for high-throughput drug screening,” Leal said.
The Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 7 Dx Pro RT-PCR System and Biotechne Protein Simple Ella Next Generation ELISA System enable the development of novel multi-target assays that are easy to perform with minimal hands-on time and high sensitivity. This enables the development of new ways to fight emerging pathogens and impact pandemic preparedness.
Rapid diagnostic test development at UAB
Leal has led SARS-CoV-2 testing during the COVID pandemic for UAB Hospital and beyond. He and his team in the Fungal Reference Laboratory developed several innovations to expand and accelerate testing results in the face of severe scientific supply shortages in spring and summer 2020 and the widespread testing of students as UAB and universities across the state returned to in-person education in fall 2020. With the rise of COVID variants in 2020 and 2021, Leal has led efforts at UAB to detect these new forms of SARS-CoV-2 through genetic sequencing, which takes place safely in the UAB Fungal Reference Lab.
The 10X Genomics Chromium X Instrument partitions and labels hundreds of thousands of single cells for sequencing, enabling unparalleled insight into the transcriptional signature of each cell during infection with high-containment pathogens.
The MiLabs U-CTUHROIFLT In Vivo Imaging System enables 3D imaging of small and medium-size animals utilizing ultra-high-resolution computed tomography (CT) coupled with fluorescent, bioluminescent and Cherenkov optical imaging. This provides highly detailed and dynamic insights into tissue-level pathogenesis with optimized efficiency and enhanced reproducibility.
Leal based his funding requests on his own experience as “someone who lives in a lot of worlds, understanding what is needed in clinical lab and research labs,” he said, as well as conversations and communications with staff and investigators. He notes that Christopher Brown, Ph.D., UAB vice president for Research, was heavily involved in the successful grant, along with David Schwebel, Ph.D., associate vice president for Research Facilities and Infrastructure, as well as other research leaders including Justin Roth, Ph.D., from UAB Biosafety, and Erik Dohm, DVM, executive director of the Animal Resources Program.
“This grant represents a major investment,” Leal said. “I expect that it will translate into a substantial impact on research productivity and pandemic preparedness at UAB and beyond.”
Over the next 12 months, funding from NIAID will support the purchase and installation of a wide range of high-end equipment for research on infectious diseases at UAB, including:
- Echo Revolve Fluorescence Microscope (upright and inverted)
- Zeiss Lattice Lightsheet 7 Microscope
- Agilent (Biotek) Cytation 10 High-Throughput Plate Reader
- Agilent SeaHorse XF Pro Analyzer
- DSI Buxco Nose-Only Inhalation Tower System
- SciReq FlexiVent Pulmonary Function Testing System
- Miltenyi MACSQuant Tyto Cell Sorter
- MiLabs U-CTUHROIFLT In Vivo Imaging System
- BIOMTECH Beta-Eye PET Imaging System
- BIOMTECH Gamma-Eye SPECT Imaging System
- Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 7 Dx Pro RT-PCR System
- Biotechne Protein Simple Ella Next Generation ELISA System
- 10X Genomics Chromium X Instrument
