Technology Review Highlights BER Genomics Researcher in Annual Ten Emerging Technologies Report

Summary

Norman Dovichi, a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Washington, Seattle, is carrying out research into new instrumentation for the analysis of the composition of individual biological cells. The March/April issue of MIT’s Technology Review names analysis of single cells one of the TR10, the Ten Emerging Technologies of 2007. The article quotes Dovichi extensively on his motivation for seeking new approaches to determining the chemical makeup of cells. His laboratory is using capillary electrophoresis to separate for example the proteins in a cell, and then applying laser fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the amount of each component detected. He is supported by the Genomics:GTL program in the Office of Biological & Environmental Research for development of improved techniques for measuring the components of microbial cells such as D. radiodurans.