An Avanti J26S XP floor centrifuge, purchased with a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Administrative Supplemental grant recently received by Associate Professor of Chemistry Patrick Lombardi, Ph.D., is assisting student researchers as they strive to deepen their knowledge from the classroom in the Lombardi Lab.
“Our research involves understanding how damage to our genetic information is detected and repaired,” Lombardi explained. “We isolate the human proteins responsible for safeguarding our genetic information from cells to study how they detect and repair chemical modifications to our DNA and RNA.” Research such as this helps further understanding of the genesis of diseases and can be used to aid the development of treatments that sensitize cancer cells to DNA- and RNA-damaging agents, such as chemotherapeutics.
“We are grateful to the NIH for their continued support,” Lombardi said. “The new equipment will advance our research and increase the STEM infrastructure at the Mount, allowing more students to benefit from hands-on learning experiences.”
The centrifuge is an integral part of the research conducted by Lombardi and the undergraduate student researchers who work in his laboratory. Previously the 14 student researchers in Lombardi’s laboratory shared a single floor centrifuge with 13 other research laboratories in the Science Department.
NIH partially sponsors the Lombardi Lab’s genetic research. For the past four years, Lombardi has received funding 
via the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA). Periodically, AREA-funded laboratories receive a call to apply for supplemental financial awards.
“There have only been two calls for AREA supplement applications since the fall of 2020, so when an opportunity is available, we are always sure to apply,” noted Lombardi. Both times, his laboratory has received an administrative supplement. In 2022, he received an NIH Administrative Supplement award that was used to purchase an ATKA Go fast-protein liquid chromatography system for the Lombardi Lab. The most recent $52,180 award funded an Avanti J26S XP floor centrifuge.
Both the liquid chromatography system and the floor centrifuge enable the research conducted by Lombardi and his students in his laboratory. “The floor centrifuge is used for 
harvesting the bacterial cells that we use to produce the DNA- and RNA-repair proteins we are studying, and the liquid chromatography system is used to separate those proteins from all of the other bacterial components.,” Lombardi said.
Recently Reanne Towler, C'24, who has conducted research in the Lombardi Lab for three years, used the new centrifuge to harvest bacterial cells for two experiments that are underway. She efficiently harvested 12 liters of cells in about an hour.
Grants Manager Nicole Patterson and Advancement Services Coordinator Renee Hill-Goodson assisted Lombardi in the application process.