BioinSyst is located in a modern 212,000 sq. ft. TAMU Emerging Technologies Building, that is also home to the Biomedical Engineering Department. Our lab has state-of-the-art equipment needed for carrying biosafety level-2 work at the intersection of engineering, life science and medicine. All staff is provided with individual desks and wet-benches. The laboratory collaborates with scientists and clinicians located in close proximity at some of the nation’s topmost biomedical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research (Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor Scott & White Health, Texas Medical Center and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center).
We have a partnership with TAMU Student Health Services to draw blood from volunteers for our research.
Tissue Culture and Molecular Biology
The lab has a dedicated tissue culture room that is equipped with capabilities such as high speed centrifuges, incubators, ovens, freezers, Countess-3 automated cell counter, electronic PH meter, microscopes and chemical hoods. We have a Luminex MAGPIX analyzer for multiplex molecular analysis, and a QuantStudio3 RT-PCR system.
Hemostasis/Other
We have research and clinical-grade hematology equipment to support our research. We house:
- Drew Scientific® Hemavet 950FS multi-species blood analyzer specially designed to analyze human blood samples with a 20 parameter characterization capability
- PendoTECH® PressureMAT 3 monitor with multiple pressure sensor inputs and 4 channel output
Engineering
Our lab is fully equipped with modern space and equipment for carrying out research in microfluidics and soft lithography. For example, we house:
- Cleanroom with SU-8 mould station (BlackHole Lab)
- PDMS spin coater
- PDMS Centrifugal Mixer (Thinky USA AR-100)
- Touchscreen plasma cleaner (Thierry Zepto)
- Remote operable syringe pumps (Harvard PHD Ultra)
- Programmable peristaltic pump (ElveFlow)
- 3D printer (Asiga MAX X27, Ender 3 Pro)
Imaging/Microscopy
Our lab includes a dedicated dark room for high resolution fluorescence microscopy. We have a Zeiss Axio Observer Inverted Microscope capable of automated multi-channel acquisition with Colibri 2 LED Illumination System, Axiocam 702 camera, and ApoTome v.2 optical sectioner. We have the CytoSMART in-incubator live-cell imaging system and Tokai Hit stage-top incubator . We also have easy access to the University’s core high-resolution imaging facilities.
Computers & Offices
The researchers of BioinSyst are provided with PC or MAC workstations and/or laptop as per requirement. Design and engineering software licenses are available. Cloud-based storage and servers administered by the University IT allow unlimited and secured storage of data.
Every researcher is provided with a wet bench and desk space inside the lab. Office space is provided to all graduate students, as well as meeting and conference rooms to foster research collaboration.