it was just me and my technician Kendall.
In August, 2005, my colleague David Watkins moved his lab to newly renovated space in University Research Park. He invited us to share in the beautifully appointed, spacious space. Though I originally expected that only a fraction of our time would be spent at Research Park, the quality of the space (and its convenience) proved me wrong. I estimate that 80-90% of our time is now spent in Research Park, though we do regularly commute to campus for seminars, meetings, and classes. Since prospective students and employees wonder what the space in Research Park looks like, I've put together the following photo tour of our Research Park lab:
We are fortunate to have a number of rooms for specialized genetic and immunologic analyses that we share with the Watkins lab. Below is a view of our pressurized PCR clean room that minimizes contamination when handling exquisitely small samples:
SIV and HIV are handled within our BSL-3 laboratory. Adjacent to the BSL-3 is a flow cytometry room containing FACScalibur and BD LSR-2 flow cytometers:
Our lab relies heavily on PCR analyses. Conventional and quantitative PCR machines are sequestered in a specially vented room to minimize noise pollution in our main molecular biology space:
My lab handles the DNA sequencing for both labs, as well as other users from the Wisconsin Primate Research Center. Our sequencing core uses a 96-well ABI 3730 (left) for sequencing and microsatellite fragment sizing as well as a 16-well ABI 3130 (center) for specialized MHC genetic analyses that require non-conventional reagents:
Our main workspace is adjacent to both the sequencing and PCR thermocycler rooms:
Beyond the lab itself, our facility has a video-conference enabled conference room as well as offices for me and my senior staff:
