Becton Dickinson and Co. has established a flow-cytometry training and research center at the University of California, Davis, through an award to the biological sciences division of a flow-cytometry system and a $150,000 endowment. An invaluable tool for scientists who need to collect a specific population of cells, a flow cytometer analyzes and separates out the cells an investigator wants. For instance, a researcher studying leukemia may use flow cytometry on a blood sample to select only those cells at a particular stage of development. The Becton Dickinson Flow Cytometry Laboratory and Training Facility, located in the Life Sciences Addition, will serve as a satellite location to the campus's optical biology center. The facility will be available campuswide to faculty and students. "I am confident the new training center supported by the endowment will provide a forum for broad-based education in flow cytometry and for building a lasting partnership between UC Davis and Becton Dickinson Immunocytometry Systems," said Deborah Neff, the company's president and a UC Davis alumna. The endowment will support an operator/trainer assigned solely to the FACSCaliberTM system and will make flow cytometry more readily available to researchers like Professor Clark Lagarias in the molecular and cellular biology section. Lagarias plans to use the system to sort yeast containing mutations of a fluorescent phytochrome -- a plant pigment that regulates light-dependent processes such as flowering -- designed in his laboratory. In turn, these fluorescent mutations will have wide application as molecular tags for cell biology research. The gift also provides students an opportunity to learn flow cytometry, a valuable and highly marketable research skill. Graduate students whose research calls for flow cytometry will have the opportunity to learn the technique, as will undergraduates working with a primary investigator who uses flow cytometry. "Becton Dickinson's contribution strengthens UC Davis' position as an excellent research institution in the biological sciences and increases our capacity to offer students access to state-of-the-art flow- cytometry technology," said Mark McNamee, dean of the biological sciences division. We are excited about the unique training and educational opportunities this creates for students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers."