Team Priorities: "Function and Regulation of Genetic Processes"
1. Build a critical mass of basic and applied research programs focused on the function and regulation of genetic processes. a. Recruit additional faculty with expertise in one or more genetic model systems (e.g. Arabidopsis, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis, yeast, mice, siRNA, etc.). Manipulable model systems are essential to the pursuit of genetic processes. Thus, collaborators who provide expertise in these genetic technologies are invaluable. Without these collaborators, it is seldom feasible for individual investigators to master new technologies, despite the competitive advantages they provide. Even when "going it alone," investigators spend too much time learning the techniques and acquiring strains. b. Recruit additional faculty with research programs focused on basic genetic processes. Although application-focused research is highly valued, it is also essential not to devalue "basic" research. Programs in basic research stimulate all endeavors, deliver important knowledge and tools, allow recruitment of top-notch faculty with modern, competitive programs, and generate a critical mass of knowledge and funding. However, several years of shrinkage within individual departments have created significant gaps in our ability to perform interdisciplinary research, and to generate the extramural funding needed to support advanced research infrastructure. It will be essential that these faculty positions be refilled, and new positions added. c. Recruit additional faculty with expertise in molecular markers technologies. As the genomes of several agricultural species near completion, genotypic markers will have wide-ranging implications and applications, including parentage, molecular markers of phenotypic traits, and etc. OEAS and DASNR have opportunities and responsibilities in this arena. However, these opportunities are not readily developed de novo, and additional faculty programs in this arena will facilitate OSU's thrusts in this arena.
2. Develop initiatives in translational genomics. Our land-grant, OEAS, and DASNR missions can be combined with basic science research by developing and fostering thrusts in translational genomics research – "transferring and applying knowledge gained from model systems into plants and animals of economic importance." Specific examples include agricultural and forestry genotyping and gene mapping. Additionally, these themes create excellent, fundable "centers." Furthermore, these themes have synergistic multi-disciplinary overlap with efforts directed at agricultural biosecurity and the genotyping of intentionally released pathogens.
3. Maintain and enhance the university's multi-user core facilities. a. Resurrect and nurture OSU's antibody core facility (HYCABS). Monoclonal antibodies are essential to too many basic and applied pursuits for OSU's hard-won gains in this arena to be abandoned. The facility will need leadership from a Ph.D.-level expert in monoclonal antibodies. b. Maintain, build, and/or nurture infrastructure and human resources in the Bioinformatics and Microarray Cores. These two cores have become essential tools to a diverse body of researchers, but are currently funded solely by extramural funding with limited duration. Until a wide robust extramural base emerges, these essential resources deserve university fostering, and their needs should be met. c. Continue to support universal-access multi-user facilities for microscopy, nucleic acids, proteins, NMR, plant growth, lab animal resources, etc. Due to the relatively small size of OSU's research base, shared facilities and equipment are essential to the pursuit of extramural and mission-directed support. Unnecessary duplication must be avoided, to prevent the dilution of the resources available for their maintenance.
4. Acquire new infrastructure to support competitive thrusts in genotyping, bioinformatics, proteomics, and micro-fabrication. To harvest the fruits of soon-to-be completed endeavors in agricultural genomics, OSU must be in a position to utilize emerging sequence databases (bioinformatics) and to develop and exploit genotypic assays (microfabrication and genotyping). In addition to nucleic acid markers, all three steps of this process can be accomplished via pursuit of gene products ("proteomics"), and the proteomics field is readily fundable. These technologies also support other applied and basic research missions. Specific instrumentation needed includes fluorescence gel imaging, computing resources, electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, and micro-dispensing.
Team Coordinator
Udaya Desilva
329P NRC
405-744-8847
Team Administrator
Gary Thompson
246 NRC
405-744-9319