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The Life Science Laboratories (LSL) house the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS)which was established in 2014, with an investment of more than $150 million from the Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The mission for IALS is to translate fundamental research into innovative products, technologies, and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. To achieve this vision, we combine deep and interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty led research groups from 29 departments on the UMass Amherst campus, with the diverse capabilities from industry and government partners.
IALS is organized into three large research centers that focus on creating state-of-the-art wearable devices in the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring (CPHM), new types of biomolecule/delivery vehicle combinations in the Center for Bioactive Delivery (CBD), and discovering novel disease-related cellular pathways, drug-targets, and therapeutic candidates in the Models to Medicine (M2M) Center.
IALS manages more than 30 Core Facilities – that facilitate a wide range of projects, from device prototyping, precision manufacturing and roll-to-roll fabrication, to human motion and gait studies, calorimetry, magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, as well as, EEG and sleep studies. These facilities are accessible to academic, government, and industry collaborators.
Near to these core facilities are “Collaboratories” – lab spaces available to industry partners to work closely with and alongside IALS faculty.
In summary, IALS works with industry partners to combine the best in academic innovation with a focus on delivering commercially significant products, services, and technologies. Hence, by design, IALS is product-focused, interdisciplinary, collaborative, outward-looking, and entrepreneurial. To explore how IALS can help you advance your goals, please reach out to us at @email.
We work together with researchers toward a singular goal: advancing applied science and technology to address the world’s most pressing challenges. The UMass Amherst Core Facilities offer expertise and resources that create new opportunities, not only for scientific achievement, but also for establishing new models of collaboration.
Professional staff members in a broad range of Core Facilities support faculty, staff, and students across campus and countless industry partners throughout Massachusetts and beyond. Our state-of-the-art laboratories, instrumentation, equipment, and world-class experts help researchers drive discovery and pursue scientific endeavors on the front line of innovation in:
- Life Sciences
- Cellular, Molecular, and Animal Sciences
- Manufacturing, Engineering, and Material Sciences
- Human Health
Our technologies and labs harness the collective experience of facility directors and technical experts, who are among the best and brightest in their fields. They serve as facilitators, consultants, and collaborators available to support researchers every step of the way, including designing experiments, analyzing data, preparing manuscripts and grant submissions, and much more.
Advanced technologies and laboratories, bolstered by in-house expertise and support, expand the University’s research capabilities, capacity, and opportunities like never before—and in doing so, continue to define UMass Amherst as New England’s research powerhouse. With a focus on applied outcomes and a team approach to discovery and development, the Core Facilities team:
- Provides access, training, and support for cutting edge technologies, advanced equipment, and high-end instrumentation.
- Facilitates research strategies – from experimental design to grant applications.
- Attracts top talent – faculty, as well as undergraduate and graduate students – to the University.
- Advances researchers’ and the University’s reputation, e.g., national research activity rankings.
- Helps identify and secure new funding sources.
- Manages risk and regulatory compliance related to facilities
- Creates synergies and cost efficiencies.
UMass Animal Care Services (ACS) is committed to providing comprehensive, enriched, and compliant care to animals used in research and teaching. The university supports the use of animals for research as a scientific necessity for the advancement of human and animal well-being. The office is staffed by a director, an attending veterinarian, and trained animal care staff.
UMass Amherst has an Institutional Animal Care and Use Program in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act and USDA/APHIS Animal Care Policies, and the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Animal Care Resources
Animal care staff provide year-round animal husbandry and veterinary care for animals. The UMass Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is charged with overseeing the use of vertebrate animals in teaching and research. A current IACUC approval is required before animals can be purchased or housed. See Animal Use Subject to IACUC Review for more information.
Please note that IACUC approval is not a guarantee that space for the animals in a UMass animal care facility is immediately available. Please consult the Director of Animal Care Services well in advance of needing animal housing to ensure space in an animal facility will be available when you need it.
Related Links
- Institutional Policy for Oversight of Animal Use in Research and Teaching
- Animal Subjects FAQ
- Useful Links for Animal Research
- Animal Ordering Form
- ACS Policies and Guidelines
UMass Amherst is also part of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) based in Holyoke, Massachusetts which provides state of the art infrastructure for computationally intensive research that is indispensable in the increasingly sensor and data-rich environments of modern science and engineering.
Computers at the MGHPCC run millions of virtual experiments every month, supporting thousands of researchers in Massachusetts and around the world. The MGHPCC operates as a joint venture between Boston University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, and the University of Massachusetts. It is open for use by any research organization. Learn more.
Note: If a research proposal includes use of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC)/Unity Cluster, please include IT Research Computing in the Kuali routing for approval (unit # A819300) or add an MOU documenting the approval by MGHPCC/Unity Cluster.