Mission
To support high-throughput-screening projects for UF Health Cancer Center members using the technical capabilities at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology in Jupiter to generate new data on promising cancer targets. The purpose of this initiative is to allow UF Health Cancer Center members free screening of The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute drug-discovery library on the order of a few thousand all the way up to more than 100,000 small molecules.
Application process
The goal of the Cancer HTS Drug Discovery Initiative is to generate valuable preliminary data leading to publications and new extramural grant submissions within two years. This is not a pilot project RFA, but a streamlined online application process in which the most promising projects will be chosen by the Cancer Center Executive Committee with the input and expertise of Timothy Spicer, Ph.D., and Louis Scampavia, Ph.D., co-directors of the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center, to evaluate feasibility.
Screening project scopes: We envision three different size projects ranging from approximately $10,000 (typically 1-4K compounds) to just under $20,000 (typically 14K compounds) and $50,000 budgets for more extensive screens (~100K compounds). Applicants on UF Health Cancer Center startup funding will be asked to leverage resources.
Eligibility: All full UF Health Cancer Center members or associate members that collaborate with one full member.
Online application and selection process: Online applications can be easily filled out by completing four windows (scientific background, graphical abstract, materials and methods and reagents provided, and any MTAs, grants, outside funding/interests), as well as by uploading an updated biosketch including current funding information. Applications will be reviewed by the Executive Committee members with input from MOO, CTT, and IOM research program co-leaders. PIs of the most promising studies may be invited for short presentations. Final decisions will be made by Jonathan Licht, M.D., director of the UF Health Cancer Center.
Advance your research through the Cancer HTS Drug Discovery Initiative
UF Health Cancer Center members can apply for proposed screens to support research projects.
High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center
Where robotics, chemistry, and biology join forces to help discover new drugs, lead molecules, and bioactive probes.
The High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center, in collaboration with other scientists at UF Scripps and around the world, identifies drug-like compounds that can help researchers better understand and ultimately cure diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and hepatitis.
By combining robotics, biology, chemistry, and informatics, the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center is able to perform high-throughput screening, a robotic process that tests hundreds of thousands of drug-like compounds for biological activity both rapidly and economically.
In addition, it has the personnel and facilities to engage both pre- and post-HTS activities, including HTS assay development, cheminformatics, compound synthesis/procurement, compound QC (via LC-MS), and mechanism of action/profiling studies. The center works with mammalian, yeast, insect, parasite, and bacterial targets.
Since establishing operations in 2005, the center has completed more than 450 large-scale screens and generated more than 200 million data points for both industrial and academic collaborations.
HTS Robotic Platform
The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute HTS center will implement your biology to an HTS-formatted assay.
- Built specifically for 1536-well plate screening
- Patented lid prevents evaporation of plate contents
- Long (>96 hr) plate incubation protocols possible
- Plate capacity: 2.3 million wells when in 1536-well plate format
- Plate incubation from 4O to 50OC, 0-100% RH, any gas (CO2, N2, Ar, etc.), hypoxic
- 1536-well plate dispenser/washer enable heterogeneous assays/fixing steps
- Luminescence, BRET, Absorbance, Fluorescence Intensity, FP, TRF, FRET, TR-FRET, AlphaScreen, AlphaLISA, FLIPR, HCA/High-Content
Contacts
Timothy P Spicer Ph.D.
Rolf Renne
