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I confess that I take it for granted that all scientists in academia, small biotech and large biopharma doing biological research have a clear understanding of what automation has to offer them in their daily routine. That said, I am sometimes caught by surprise when I'm asked this question. My first response is that automation allows you to do more, but throughput is not the only reason to automate! An essential reason to automate is to make an assay more robust, by taking the possibility for human error out of the equation during assay setup. In this way you deliver a more reliable answer. It is the intended goal of the T3 Update newsletter to provide you with Tips, Tricks and Techniques that keep you on track for the delivery of robust assays that provide reliable answers to the biological questions posed by your research. I have organized this issue of the T3 Update newsletter in the following sections to make it easy for you to find the information you seek: Applications: In this section we provide you with application notes and/or poster presentations of automated solutions on the Biomek® family of liquid handlers that will provide you with insight as to the range of possibilities on your automation platform. These automated application solutions have been developed by our internal applications team, our partner chemistry companies and by you, our customer. Contributions are welcome! I am also on the lookout for new opportunities to automate manual assay kits on the Biomek family of liquid handlers. Send me your ideas and opportunities! Integrated Solutions: In this section we provide you with the latest Automated Labware Positioners (ALPs) and third-party components that are available for integration onto our automation platforms (e.g., Assay Workstation and SAGIAN™ Core systems). These solutions have been developed by our SAGIAN team of hardware and software engineers. Contact your local Beckman Coulter sales associate if you see an ALP you'd like to have integrated on your system. Project Management – NAO: In this section we share the latest integration project developed for a customer by our team of integration experts in North America Operations (NAO). This team works with the Integrated Solutions team at SAGIAN to solve a particular automation challenge for a customer. While most of these projects involve large automation systems, some of the solutions may be applicable to you. Customer Training and Support: In this section we share the latest from our Customer Training and Support team in NAO. The CTS team provides training courses at three sites in North America and has recently developed a new online capability: eLab Live On-line, which facilitates live Biomek FX training over the web. Check us out! FAQs: In this section I provide you an opportunity to receive answers to your questions regarding aspects of your automation. Take advantage of this chat room forum. Event Calendar: In this section we provide you with an update of scheduled events related to automation around the globe: trade shows, user group meetings, etc. As I said earlier, it is my goal to provide you with Tips, Tricks and Techniques in the T3 Update newsletter that keep you on track for delivering robust assays that deliver reliable answers to the biological questions posed by your research. Let me know if I've accomplished this goal. Do you have questions I've not yet addressed? This is your forum!
About the editor: My academic training was focused on transcriptional regulation in prokaryotic systems. I defined the essential elements in overlapping promoter DNA sequences in E. coli (Ph.D. in Biology, U.C. Irvine, 1981-1987) and defined specific amino acid – nucleotide contacts made between a developmentally regulated sigma subunit of RNA polymerase and its cognate promoter DNA in B. subtilis (post-doc, Harvard Biolabs, 1987-1991). I left academia to join Beckman Instruments in December 1991, with a goal to develop an alternative DNA amplification technology that did not infringe on PCR. We successfully achieved that goal by developing a DNA ligase-dependent amplification of DNA that could amplify target molecules >106 fold through thermal cycling (PCT/US93/07342). I made a career move off the lab bench to provide technical evaluation of key technologies that enable drug discovery research and provide strategic planning for delivery of those technologies to Beckman Coulter customers. I now hold the title of Applications Marketing Manager. I am responsible for converting assay kits from a manual to an automated format on liquid handlers in the Biomek continuum. I work in Fullerton, Calif., as part of the Platforms and Automation Business Center. -- David W. Daniels, Ph.D. For comments or questions about T3 Update, please contact David Daniels, Ph.D., editor.
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