Omics Lab for Health and Human Performance

The Omics Lab for Health and Human Performance performs various nucleotide-based analysis on various organisms from bacteria to plants and animals, including humans.  Research is heavily focused on molecular biology and omics-based approaches for assessment of immunity in extreme environments.

The primary instruments include two Illumina next generation sequencers, an iSeq 100 and NextSeq 1000, enabling simple genomic diversity studies and more complex cell signaling and gene regulation studies, respectively. We also have several BioRad T100 thermal cyclers, an Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 3 Real-Time PCR, an Agilent Technologies 2200 TapeStation and NanoCrop OneC Microvolume UV-vis Spectrophotometer, and an Invitrogen Qubit 4 Fluorometer. We also have the capability for rapid cell sorting using a SONY SH800S Cell Sorter with 488nm & 638nm Laser, 4-color, and 96 well plate deposition.

Equipment

• Illumina NextSeq 1000 and iSeq 100 sequencers
• Sony SH800S multi-application cell sorter Sorter with 488nm & 638nm Laser, 4-color, and 96 well plate deposition
• BioRad T100 thermal cyclers
• Alkali Scientific Beadblaster^TM 24-tube homogenizer
• Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 3 Real-Time PCR machine
• Invitrogen Qubit 4 Fluorometer
• Agilent Technologies 2200 TapeStation
• Thermo Scientific SORVAL ST1R refrigerated centrifuge
• Invitrogen Qubit 4 Fluorometer
• Synvivo WELSX Chamber and Pneumatic Primer for on microscope stage microfluidic imaging.
• EXI-310 Upright microscope with fluorescent attachment hardware (filter sliders, light blockers, and UV shield), DAPI, Hoechst filter set (350/460nm, EX/EM), FITC/GFP filter set (470/535nm EX/EM), Cy3/TRITC/Alexa532 filter set 525/605nm EX/EM), 54mm petri dish holder and glass slide holder, and an LED illuminator (X-cite mini+) for fluorescent cell imaging.
• BioSpherix Incubator Subchamber System with O₂/CO₂ Control
• Tissue culture biosafety level II (BSL-II) cabinet: Biosafety Plus certified.

Current Projects

• Relating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and inflammation in the spaceflight environment.
• Delineating the effects of low dose acute ionizing cosmic irradiation effects on sex-specific immunity.
• Modeling lunar and Mars partial gravity as a continuum using 3D tissue chip- and microfluidic-based approaches.
• Unearthing inflammation in extreme environmental conditions.
• Delineating the immunological aging process.

Recent Articles

• Omics Lab is a Hub for Aerospace Physiology Exploration. Editor: Jonathan Oneill. https://erau.edu/stories/omics-hub-for-aerospace-physiology. May 11, 2023.

• Eagle Undergrad’s Research on ‘Space Mice’ Tops National Conference. Editor: Mike Cavliere. https://news.erau.edu/headlines/eagle-undergrads-research-on-space-mice-tops-national-conference. April 2, 2022.