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Press Release 021809 | |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ISB Researchers Develop Fully Automated, High Throughput Microfluidic Experiment Platform
SEATTLE, February 18, 2009 – Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle and the University of British Columbia have develop a new fully automated microfluidic experiment platform for conducting live-cell experimentation that enables high throughput imaging and on-chip microenvironment manipulation. A paper describing the platform was published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This is a very exciting advance that will have significant applications any time researchers are trying to understand how cells collect, process and respond to information about their environment," said Tim Galitski, PhD, associate professor at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB). "In a single run, we can preprogram on-chip dynamic changes in microenvironment and chemical stimuli for hundreds of separate experiments on live cells, gather dynamic image data reporting morphological and gene-expression responses to those changes, and make it all happen at the push of a button." As proof of principle, researchers used the platform to conduct 3,000 live-cell experiments examining the response of a prototypical molecular pathway, the mating pheromone response of yeast, to genetic and environmental changes. The objective was to identify whether the pathway exhibits "memory" of previous stimulatory episodes and to identify genes that affect how long that memory lasts. Members of the research team speculate that "frequency-dependent signal memory" allows the yeast cells to mount a rapid and successful mating response in the event of frequently recurring pheromone stimulation. 'This platform clearly provided new information, and in fact, allowed us to ask and answer questions not approachable with existing technologies," said Galitski. "The platform will enable us to develop and rigorously test refined computational models of this and many other pathways." The paper describing the new platform can be viewed at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/02/13/0813416106.full.pdf+html. About the Institute for Systems BiologyThe Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is an internationally renowned, non-profit research institute headquartered in Seattle and dedicated to the study and application of systems biology. Founded by Leroy Hood, Alan Aderem and Ruedi Aebersold, ISB seeks to unravel the mysteries of human biology and identify strategies for predicting and preventing diseases such as cancer, diabetes and AIDS. ISB's systems approach integrates biology, computation and technological development, enabling scientists to analyze all elements in a biological system rather than one gene or protein at a time. Founded in 2000, the Institute has grown to 14 faculty and more than 250 staff members; an annual budget of more than $35 million; and an extensive network of academic and industrial partners. For more information about ISB, visit www.systemsbiology.org
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CONTACT:
Todd Langton Associate Director of Communications and Public Relations (206) 732-1333 
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