Agilent donates microarray technology to Rhodes College for hands-on gene expression experiments to prepare students for leadership in research, medical and policy-making
Agilent Technologies and Rhodes College have announced a donation by Agilent of $150,000 in microarray kits to be used by Rhodes undergraduates in the study of human diseases.
Rhodes College will use these kits as teaching aids to introduce biology students to microarray technology and gene expression experiments.
"Microarrays have become a cornerstone technology for the study of genetic information and are playing an important role in the advancement of biomedical research," said Gary Lindquester, chairman of the department of biology at Rhodes College.
"When compared to large research universities, liberal arts colleges have relatively small laboratory and research budgets, but they graduate a disproportionately large number of the country's future biomedical researchers, health administrators and policy-makers. "Gifts such as this provide our future research and health professionals with experiences that will inform and excite them about the latest tools in molecular research".
Many Rhodes graduates continue on to medical school, graduate school or to work at the nearby St Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis.
The Agilent microarrays will be used in problem-based exercises for genetics and molecular biology classes at Rhodes.
The donation is also enabling the school to plan a new curriculum that includes an interdisciplinary programme in molecular genetics, cell biology and biochemistry.
Commonly used in the research of cancer and other diseases, a microarray is based on a 1"x3" glass slide printed with thousands of DNA probes, each of which corresponds to a unique gene.
In any given type of cell, only 10 to 30 percent of genes are expressed, or active.
Microarrays can be used to measure the activity of each expressed gene in a cell and to compare the differences between diseased cells and their healthy counterparts.
They are used today to identify genes potentially involved in disease, to research new therapeutics, and to find prognostic and diagnostic indicators that might facilitate a more personalized approach to medical care.
Agilent Technologies is a leading provider of microarray-based gene expression research solutions with more than 400 customers worldwide.
Rhodes, founded in 1848, is a private coeducational college of liberal arts and sciences.
Its 1550 students choose from among 31 majors leading to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree.
