# Bigfoot Cell Sorter

> **NIH NIH P20** · CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $250,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) application 5P20GM139762 established the Translational
Hearing Center (THC) at Creighton University with Boys Town National Research Hospital and the University
of Nebraska Medical Center, as institutional partners The goal of the COBRE has been “to build a critical
mass of academic translational researchers developing therapeutic interventions to preserve or restore hearing
and vestibular function from a wide range of etiologies that cause hearing loss and vestibular deficits”. A key
aim of the COBRE is to develop infrastructure to support innovative research by THC investigators. Toward
that goal, this equipment supplement requests funds to replace and upgrade an obsolete FACSAria II cell
sorter with a state-of-the-art Bigfoot five-laser 53 parameter cell sorter from Life Technologies Corporation
(hereafter termed “Bigfoot”). The Bigfoot’s gentle, but rapid, sorting and spectral analysis capabilities will
enable THC researchers to more readily identify and characterize cells involved in the etiology and progression
of disorders leading to hearing loss, and open new avenues for high-throughput screening within the COBRE’s
Drug Discovery and Delivery Core Facility. The integration of the Bigfoot within an intentionally designed
biosafety cabinet will vastly improve personnel safety and diminish potential sample contamination compared
to the existing FACSAria II cell sorter. By placing the Bigfoot within an established multi-user Flow Cytometry
Core Facility, we will ensure proper instrument oversight, management, use, and training, which will facilitate
investigator access, reliability, and student learning. The Bigfoot’s greater complementarity with an existing
BioRAD ZE5 flow cytometer (analysis only; no sorting capability) will reduce the need to alter antibody panels
used for multi-color analysis and sorting, offer new opportunities for high-dimensional analysis, and provide a
backup for unexpected repairs of the BioRAD ZE5. Institutional support for the acquisition of the Bigfoot is
demonstrated through a 1:1 match to funds that would be awarded for this supplement. Overall, the Bigfoot is
expected to enhance not only the research infrastructure available for THC investigators, but have broad
positive impact on the Creighton research community as a whole.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11032350
- **Project number:** 3P20GM139762-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Peter Stephen Steyger
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $250,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-03-05 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11032350

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11032350, Bigfoot Cell Sorter (3P20GM139762-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11032350. Licensed CC0.

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