While the IGBB Service Center can perform low-risk, fairly routine biomolecular tasks on a fee-per-service basis, some of your research goals may require (or would most readily be completed with) the help of professionals trained in advanced procedures and/or data analysis techniques. The IGBB research associates, most of whom have Ph.D. degrees and/or many years of practical experience, can be hired to conduct research tasks associated with their specialties. For example, let's say you need an expert in RNA isolation and RNAseq to help you complete a portion of a research project. You could train a student or postdoc to become proficient in these research tasks, but you may not have the experience, time, or money to train someone. Moreover, you may not have the instrumentation you need to do the research correctly. This is where the IGBB can help. Rather than training someone new, you can hire a highly skilled IGBB scientist to perform the research for you. The savings in cost and time is tremendous! The process works like this:
- The principal investigator (PIs) interested in determining whether
the IGBB can help them in their research/analyses contacts one of the IGBB's Research Leads.
- The Research Lead(s) sets up a meeting with the PI to discuss project goals, feasibility, and
approaches. This consultation is free.
- If the PI and the Research Lead agree to a research plan, the
Research Lead
will generate an itemized quote for the PI that includes salary, fringe, reagent
costs, machine costs, etc. The duration of the employment agreement depends upon the needs of the customer and can range from a few hours to several months. In addition, IGBB employment agreements can cover fairly low weekly time committments spread out over long stretches (e.g., a customer may hire an IGBB employee to work on a project 5 hours a week for four years). Overhead charges and/or HPC² retainage costs may or may not be
applicable. Once a plan is set between a PI and an IGBB Research Lead, a final quote will be sent to the PI for approval. Once the PI approves the quote, work can begin.
If you don't have funding in hand, but are working on a grant proposal, you can include the participation of an IGBB expert-for-hire in your proposal budget (note: you must make such agreements with the expert-for-hire through a MyIGBB itemized quote). To discuss a hiring an IGBB expert, please contact one of the IGBB's Research Leads by phone or e-mail.
NOTE: PIs are asked to consider whether the participation of an IGBB employee in a project merits that employee's inclusion as a co-author on a resulting manuscript(s). The decision ultimately lies with the PI. However, the IGBB encourages IGBB staff and faculty involved in
Proposal Partnerships and
Experts for Hire to discuss/negotiate co-authorship with PIs before starting work on a project.

Characterization of virulent and avirulent Listeria monocytogenes strains by PCR amplification of putative transcriptional regulator and internalin genes
IGBB Authors:
Mark L. LawrencePUBLICATION YEAR:
2003IMPACT FACTOR:
1.966CITATION COUNT:
97Liu D, Ainsworth AJ, Austin FW, Lawrence ML (2003) Characterization of virulent and avirulent Listeria monocytogenes strains by PCR amplification of putative transcriptional regulator and internalin genes.
Journal of Medical Microbiology 52(Pt 12): 1065-1070.
DOI:
10.1099/jmm.0.05358-0EID:
2-s2.0-1542750262PMID: 14614064
DOWNLOAD PDFABSTRACTListeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that is an important cause of human food-borne illness worldwide. However, L. monocytogenes strains demonstrate considerable variation in pathogenic potential. In this report, virulent and avirulent L. monocytogenes isolates were compared by using a comparative screening strategy. Two clones were identified that contained DNA that was only present in virulent L. monocytogenes strains. PCR primers were designed for three genes from these clones and for five other selected L. monocytogenes genes. All eight primer sets predominantly detected virulent L. monocytogenes isolates, as determined by a mouse virulence assay; one of the putative internalin genes, lmo2821, was detected in all strains that were considered to be virulent. Primers from these eight genes were then tested by PCR against a larger panel of bacterial strains; each of the genes was detected predominantly in clinical or food L. monocytogenes isolates, rather than environmental isolates. The findings from this study suggest that virulent L. monocytogenes strains may possess genes that are not present in avirulent isolates, which could serve as markers for PCR assessment of L. monocytogenes virulence.
Dr. Zenaida V. MagbanuaSenior Research Associate
GENOMICS
email(662) 325-7647
Pace 120
The IGBB is supported, in part, by the following units:
The IGBB is an HPC² member center.