Students in the Biophysics Graduate Group have access to specialized laboratories, research units, and high technology research facilities for special projects.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility has sophisticated NMR spectrometers, which allow users to conduct a variety of Research: 500 MHz Omega, 300 MHz Omega, 400 MHz Bruker AMX, 2T CSI, and 7T Omega spectrometers. Some of the current research areas include protein structure function, metabolic regulation, diffusion and transport phenomena, and imaging blood flow and tissue. The Facility staff are highly trained in NMR research and will provide consultation and advice to help researchers achieve their NMR research goals.at
Lawrence Berkeley Labs (a 60 min. drive from UC Davis) is available to provide very bright, spatially coherent radiation that can be used for photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning x-ray microscopy or to provide picosecond pulses of ultraviolet light for studying the kinetics of chemical reactions. The exceptional brightness of the ultraviolet radiation will allow useful photoelectron signals to be generated from areas only 500 atoms in diameter. By scanning a focused beam across the surface, spatially resolved photoelectron spectroscopy is possible, thereby revealing the location as well as the type of process occurring there.
Los Alamos National Laboratory(LANL) in New Mexico is a campus of the University of California. Exciting opportunities exist for biophysics graduate students to carry out studies of biological structure and function using a range of biophysical techniques, some of which will utilize what will be the major neutron scatter facility in the U.S.A. Such studies will be developed in research collaborations between UCD and LANL.
California Primate Research Center(CPRC) investigates selected human health problems of which the nonhuman primate is the animal model of choice. Research programs include developmental and reproductive biology and a variety of biomedical collaborative research projects. Operation of the center is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and other grants and contracts from a wide variety of extramural sources.
Facility for Advanced Instrumentation(FAI) provides and maintains major equipment including transmission electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, mass spectrometers, a programmable spectrophotometer, image analyzing systems, and ancillary equipment. The FAI staff trains those members of research groups who have not had experience in preparatory techniques and instrument operation and is also available as consultants and "trouble shooters" for research projects.
Health Sciences Research Laboratories is composed of several high technology biological science facilities with research staff and assistance for graduate students. These include:
- Protein Structure Laboratory - instrumentation for quantitative amino acid analysis and automated sequencing by Edman degradation, ancillary instrumentation for identification of amino acid phenylthiohydantoins. This laboratory also houses a DNA-synthesizer and a flow cytometer for fluorescence-activated cell sorting.
- Hormone Assay Laboratory - provides trace labeling of peptide hormones and generates antibodies for radioimmunoassays. Histology Laboratory - provides services for histological analysis and includes an auto-technician ultra II and microtomes of various kinds, including cryostats for frozen sections.
- Biochemistry and Special Instrumentation Laboratory - includes ultracentrifuges, beta and gamma spectrometers, and spectrophotometers.
- Electron Microscopy Laboratory - transmission and scanning electron microscopes, freeze fracture apparatus, ultramicrotome, darkroom, photomicroscope, and complete EM specimen preparation facilities.
- Veterinary Medicine Joint Hybridoma Laboratory - provides instruction and facilities for the preparation of monoclonal antibodies. The laboratory is also developing additional lines of animal plasmacytomas.
The Bodega Marine Laboratory supports basic and applied interdisciplinary research and teaching activities. It is located on Bodega Head, about 100 miles from Davis. The laboratory property, a protected biological refuge, fronts on both the ocean and Bodega Harbor and is part of the UC Natural Reserve System. Studies at the laboratory include those in biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology, genetics, developmental biology, microbiology and invertebrate zoology. Courses in marine subjects are offered at the laboratory both during the academic year and in summer session.
Peter J. Shields Library, the main campus library, is a predominantly open-stack library which contains more than 2.2 million volumes and receives more than 60,000 periodicals, serials, and government publications annually. Its holdings in the physical and biological sciences and agricultural sciences are outstanding; there are strong collections in the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. The use of most library materials has been made easier by a computerized control system. In addition to these collections and facilities of Shields Library, there are branch libraries for the health sciences (approximately 187,000 volumes) and the physical sciences and engineering (approximately 177,000 volumes) and 718,000 research reports of the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and other governmental agencies.