Survey to Assess Need for In-House Validation Services

NIH is now requiring grant applicants to validate key reagents to be used in the proposed research, particularly cell lines.  Major journals are also starting to require such validation for publication.  The preferred validation method is STR (short tandem repeat) profiling.  Commercial firms provide this service for fees ranging from $70 to $300, depending on the firm and the precise work being done. 

The COBRE-supported Genetic Technologies Core is looking into providing STR profiling for the UK campus and surrounding region, but we need to estimate the number of likely users.  If you currently use outside firms for this service or contemplate a need for this in the near future, please help us out by answering the following questions:

If this service were available on campus, would you use it?

How many samples per year do you estimate you will need to have analyzed?

What would you be willing to pay for this service? 

Please send your responses to Michael Mendenhall at mendenh@uky.edu.