Acquisition of a beckman biomek I7 automated workstation for high-throughput screening core facility

The National Institutes of Health Office of the Director awarded the Regents of the University of Michigan $348,594 on September 1, 2026, to acquire a Beckman Biomek I7 automated liquid-handling workstation equipped with a HEPA-filtered hood for the Center for Chemical Genomics high-throughput screening core facility.

The Center for Chemical Genomics, located within the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan, operates a high-throughput screening facility serving U-M faculty and external researchers. The facility conducts approximately 20 high-throughput screening campaigns annually and supports 3 to 5 structure-activity relationship campaigns. An automated liquid handler supports 100 percent of the screening experiments performed by the center. The current Biomek FXP instrument cannot be upgraded with the HEPA-filtered enclosure attachment necessary for experiments requiring a sterile environment. Patient-derived cell protocols and multi-day compound treatment protocols increasingly demand sterile conditions to improve assay fidelity and reduce cell contamination risk. The acquisition of the Biomek I7 with HEPA-filtered capability will enable the facility to accommodate screening experiments requiring aseptic handling and to serve evolving experimental protocols across early-phase drug discovery and basic research at the institution.

The award is made under the Research Infrastructure Programs (Assistance Listing 93.351), which supports scientific instrumentation and research resources. Performance occurs at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2027.

Abstract

The center for chemical genomics (CCG) located within the life sciences institute (LSI) serves as the high-throughput screening (HTS) core facility at the university of michigan (U-M), available to all U-M faculty, as well as researchers external to U-M. The CCG is a critical component of both basic research and the early- phase drug discovery pipeline at U-M. IT conducts ~20 HTS campaigns annually, in addition to supporting ~3-5 structure-activity relationship (SAR) campaigns. An automated liquid handler is used to support 100% of the screening experiments performed by the CCG, making IT an integral part of the CCG's workflow. The need for sterility while conducting HTS campaigns has conventionally been low, as the cell lines used in screens have been genetically engineered to be resistant to microbial contamination. However, the experimental protocols that the CCG aims to support are rapidly evolving. Increasingly, experiments demand the use of patient-derived cells for optimum physiological relevance, and the use of multi-day compound treatment protocols is also becoming more prevalent. In these experimental paradigms, a hepa-filtered environment is critical to improving the reproducibility of experiments, increasing assay fidelity, and lowering the risk of cell infection and contamination. Cell contamination wastes reagents and leads to costly delays for both the CCG and its researchers. The CCG currently uses a biomek FXP for its liquid handling needs. IT is not possible to upgrade this instrument with the necessary hepa-filtered enclosure attachment needed for sterility. As a result, the current equipment in the CCG cannot accommodate screening experiments that necessitate a sterile environment. The CCG requests funds to purchase the beckman biomek I7 outfitted with a hepa-filtered hood, which will allow the CCG to perform automated high-throughput cell handling to support cell-based screening campaigns in a sterile environment. The CCG supports projects for U-M researchers and external collaborators across an incredible breadth of research fields, including research on cancer, cardiomyopathy, drug metabolism, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, ataxia, epilepsy, and many other diseases. The university has been a national leader in academic drug discovery for decades, demonstrated by several FDA approved drugs, as well as 16 drugs in current clinical development. The initial identification of bioactive lead molecules is a vital part of this pipeline and aligns with the mission of the NIH and U-M's overarching goal of improving public health. Expanding the CCG's capabilities to include a hepa-filtered liquid handling environment will allow the CCG to support the next generation of HTS experiments, especially those with an emphasis on using patient-derived samples, ultimately improving the translational fidelity of our research as well as enabling U-M to support the development of more personalized medical approaches.