SRU Biosystems, a leader in label-free technologies, announced today the launch of its annual Label-free Technology Award. This year the company will award its newest label-free BIND® SCANNER to an academic or non-profit laboratory to support innovative scientific and drug discovery research.
“Limited cell numbers currently prevent widespread use of primary cultured cells, such as stem cells, in screening and profiling applications”
"SRU Biosystems' BIND Readers have been employed across the pharmaceutical and academic organizations for several years, and the BIND SCANNER is the next generation in label-free detection technologies," said Richard Wagner, CEO of SRU Biosystems. "The power of the SCANNER is its unique ability to monitor and quantify cellular responses at a single cell resolution using a non-destructive, label-free format. We believe this system could have a significant impact on an enormous number of applications including stem cell differentiation, cellular migration and cytotoxicity, all of which have direct implications in drug discovery. Our hope for this award is to foster fundamental, yet high-impact research and application development in cellular systems using the BIND SCANNER."
The label-free technology award is open to both individual researchers and joint applications with core screening centers. Researchers within academic and government institutions as well as non-profit research foundations are eligible for SRU's Label-free Technology Research Award. Recipients will be chosen based on scientific merit, novelty of research and the promise of advancing science and medicine using label-free technology. Previous experience using label-free technologies is not a requirement for eligibility. SRU is hosting a webinar for interested parties titled: "Label-Free Monitoring of Individual Cellular Responses Using the BIND SCANNER." Webinar dates and times: Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 9:00am EST & Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 1:00pm EST.
"Limited cell numbers currently prevent widespread use of primary cultured cells, such as stem cells, in screening and profiling applications," said Mann Shoffner, Director of Sales and Marketing at SRU Biosystems. "The SCANNER's high resolution and throughput capabilities enable assays using these more physiologically relevant cells earlier in the drug discovery process. We believe that this grant program will promote and expand the use of primary cultured cells and expedite scientific discovery."
More information about the award program, submission of applications, and official rules can be found at www.srubiosystems.com/grants. The deadline for award submissions is January 5, 2011. Recipients will be announced on or before January 31, 2011. This is the second Label-free Technology Award offered by SRU in two years.