FacilitiesThe University and the four departments supporting Molecular Biology Studies offer excellent facilities for graduate research and study. The Departments of Botany, Microbiology, and Zoology are located in Pearson Hall, which was completed in the Fall of 1986. The Department of Chemistry is located in the adjacent Hughes Laboratories. Each Department contains modern, well-equipped facilities and instrumentation representative of the particular field of investigation. Access to main frame, VAX and innumerable microcomputers is available and encouraged. For instructional and research purposes, each department has a well-equipped computer laboratory, and educational/technical software for Apple/Macintosh, IBM and Hewlett-Packard microcomputers is available. Among the four departments, equipment for DNA sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis, molecular cloning, cell culture/fractionation, and biochemical characterization of cellular and subcellular components, electron microscopic examination of chemical and biological materials and field studies of organisms are available. The Botany and Zoology Departments support the Electron Microscopy Facility and its technical staff. The Center is housed in Pearson Hall and includes four transmission electron microscopes, two scanning electron microscopes, and an EDAX X-ray analysis unit plus necessary ancillary equipment. A Nikon PCM 2000 Laser Scanning Confocal System and a Nikon Optiphot Photo System are available for light microscopy research. Access to the Electron Microscopy Center facilities is available to qualified individuals and courses providing instruction in the theory and operation of the equipment are offered. The Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics is a central facility that maintains state of the art equipment to assist bioinformatic and functional genomic research at Miami University. These include multi- and single-capillary automated DNA analyzers, thermocyclers, digital imagers, M-D Storm 860 Phosphorimager, DNA microarray analyzers, and workstations for bioinformatics research. The main unit of the University's Animal Care Facilities is housed in the Biological Sciences Building. These facilities provide a modern, state-of-the-art, self-contained complex which includes 15 animal rooms, two quarantine rooms, three laboratories, two aquatic rooms, four environmental chambers and a cage washing/sterilization area. Two animal rooms are designated for the study of class 1 and class 2 agents of infectious disease. Technical staff are available to assist and supervise animal care. The Instrumentation Laboratory is an all-University service facility which purchases and maintains sophisticated instruments for interdepartmental use and operates a fully staffed and well-equipped glass shop, a machine shop, and an electronics shop. Access to instrumentation laboratory facilities is without charge to qualified individuals. The Brill Science Library, located in the west wing of Hughes Laboratories, contains the University's collections in science and mathematics. National and international journals pertinent to the field of study are available, in addition to innumerable graduate student study carrels. The library provides computer terminal access to the holdings of other Miami libraries and to the holdings of libraries throughout the United States, in addition to computerized literature search services.
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