Our research and teaching facilities are excellent following recent rounds of laboratory refurbishment and extensive investment in new equipment. The new Teaching Laboratory has been built on the ground floor and access for disabled students has been made easier for the laboratory and the lecture theatres.
Laboratories and equipment
The Department's Downing site is fully equipped for molecular, genetic and biochemical studies, including cell culture, protein overexpression and purification, as well as radioisotope work and it has full access to advanced DNA sequencing technology. There are extensive imaging facilities, including Differential Interference Contrast, fluorescence and confocal microscopes, low-light imaging systems suitable for photon counting studies and an in situ hybridisation suite. Electrophysiological studies use patch clamp rigs equipped for micromanipulation, ion selective and electrical measurements, microsampling and UV laser ablation work. Our instrumentation for the analysis of elemental composition, photohormones and metabolites in plants, includes several HPLCs, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and gas chromatographs (GC) and GC/MS. Fluorescence sensors and infrared gas analysers are available for analysis of photosynthesis and gas exchange.
High-speed computing facilities
High-speed computing facilities support mathematical modelling of plant-pathogen interactions, the epidemiology of disease and 3D imaging of plant development. The Department also houses a 96 core Linux cluster with 40TB of storage running “A Database-Driven, Automated, Pipeline and Tracking System” (ADDAPTS) for analysis of high-throughput DNA sequence data.
Teaching laboratory
This dedicated and teaching laboratory located on the ground floor provides spaces for up to 80 students. Students living with disabilities are also provided for. Practical classes from IA Physiology of Organisms and IB Plant and Microbial Sciences are held here. Space is also available for Part II students as well as Summer school students and Science festival groups. Equipment in the teaching laboratory includes core laboratory facilities with six dedicated screens and audio pick up.
Lecture theatres
There are two lecture theatres located in the Downing Site building, the Large Lecture Theatre and the Tom Ap Rees Lecture Theatre. The Large Lecture Theatre, located on the ground floor, seats 110, is wheelchair accessible and is equipped with desktop PC, three projectors, VGA and HDMI connection for laptop presentation, integrated sound system, webcam, two microphones (one handheld and one wearable) and two visualisers. The Large Lecture Theatre is available for University-wide use during opening hours and can be booked via Booker or by contacting reception@plantsci.cam.ac.uk. The Tom Ap Rees Lecture Theatre, also known as the Small Lecture Theatre, is located on the ground floor within the Library and is wheelchair accessible. It seats 25 in either a classroom or meeting room format and is set up for remote lecture capture, with desktop PC linked to a projector, camera, sound system and ceiling microphones.