Creativity Award Program

Apply For a Free BD Accuri C6 flow cytometer

We are excited to see flow cytometry used more broadly in the life sciences. Towards that goal we want to 1) support new and innovative research, and 2) help investigators expand the use of flow cytometers. Download our Creativity Award Application and tell us about innovative protocols or new research you would perform if you had access to the full-featured analytical BD Accuri C6 flow cytometer System in your lab.

We receive many highly-qualified submissions and can only award three C6 Flow Cytometers a year in countries where we actively sell our products. Proposals not selected automatically stay in the pool of potential recipients. Awards are announced once a year in April. Creativity Award winners are not eligible for additional awards for a period of five years after their abstract was selected.

2011 Winning Abstracts

Using Flow Cytometry to Improve Assisted Reproductive Technologies in the Endangered Asian Elephant

Dr. Dennis Schmitt DVM, PhD from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation, Polk City, Florida

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is a listed under Appendix I of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The North American Asian elephant population is not self-sustaining and is predicted to become extinct within 50 years if successful reproduction is not increased (Olson and Wiese, 2000; Wiese, 2000). Therefore, semen cryopreservation has become a research priority to help propagate this endangered species. However, Asian elephant semen presents several challenges that require further study. This study will use four breeding bulls housed at the Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC). Five ejaculates will be collected from each bull using two collection methods: rectal palpation and a breeding phantom. Semen will be evaluated immediately after collection using a light microscope to estimate total motility, progressive motility, and morphology. Samples determined to have greater than 50% motility will be utilized to examine acrosome status and mitochondrial activity using the Accuri C6. FITC-PNA and JC-1 will be used respectively. PI will be used to gate out dead cells. Samples will then be extended and a pre-freeze aliquot utilized for C6 analysis prior to freezing. Samples will be frozen in 0.5 cc straws in a programmable freezer and stored in liquid nitrogen for 14 days. Two straws will be thawed, warmed, and extended frozen-thawed samples analyzed using both the light microscope and the C6, as previously described. Statistical differences between the two collection methods for fresh and frozen-thawed samples will be determined using SAS.

Hands-On Microbial Flow Cytometry Training for the Next Generation of Bioprocess Engineers

Dr Tim W Overton from the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK

Flow cytometry offers many advantages over traditional techniques for monitoring industrial bioprocesses such as bacterial or yeast fermentation, including the ability to monitor cells independently of growth, high statistical significance of data generated and speed of measurement allowing real-time bioprocess optimisation. However, use of flow cytometry in this application is hampered by three factors: high cost of instrumentation; large size of instrumentation; and a lack of trained personnel to operate instruments, analyse data or design analytical procedures. This proposal aims to solve all three problems by implementing hands-on training for MSc Biochemical Engineering students, representing the next generation of bioprocess engineers, on the use of the cost- and space-effective Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer for the analysis of microbial fermentation at laboratory (5 litre) and pilot (50-150 litre) scale. The training will allow the students to gain practical experience of monitoring biomass accumulation, cell viability, physiology and process productivity, and demonstrate that flow cytometry is more quantitative and faster to use than traditionally-used methods for analysis of fermentations, allowing real-time analysis and optimisation of process conditions. Once trained, graduates will be able to act as ambassadors for flow cytometry using the Accuri C6 throughout the worldwide bioprocessing sector.

Validation of a Flow Cytometry-Based Method for the Characterization of Drug Resistant P. vivax Phenotypes

Dr Jutta Marfurt and Dr Ric Price from Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia

Malaria control programs have been significantly undermined by the emergence and spread of drug resistant strains of Plasmodium. Most research focuses on P. falciparum, the most pathogenic species. The public health importance of P. vivax infection is often neglected.

Over the last ten years, chloroquine resistant strains of P. vivax have emerged in Southeast Asia and pose a significant threat to malaria control programs. The surveillance of these strains is crucial to containing their spread and optimising treatment guidelines. Despite its limitations, in vitro drug susceptibility testing remains an important tool for defining antimalarial drug resistance away from host confounding factors. Current quantification methods rely on microscopy and are laborious. Alternative methods of quantification are urgently needed.

The current proposal will investigate a novel, flow cytometry-based strategy for optimising quantification of the in vitro drug assay and determine the efficacy of new antimalarial agents against P. vivax. The reliability, sensitivity and reproducibility of the drug susceptibility profiles derived by this new method will be compared and correlated against profiles derived by the established microscopy-based method.

Automation of the in vitro drug susceptibility assay will facilitate the standardization of protocols for the surveillance of drug resistant P. vivax malaria and pave the way for high throughput screening of novel antimalarial compounds. Furthermore, it will provide standardized phenotypic data for in-depth studies identifying the genetic correlates of drug resistant P. vivax.