User Fees

The facility is a non-profit research resource. All projects entail operation fees to recover costs associated with staff time, routine maintenance, replenishment of expendable supplies, and service contracts. Fees will be waived if problems develop as the result of equipment failure, but not for problems resulting from sample quality, quantity, or outside operator error. Users must have a valid university account number and a prior billing agreement in place before the onset of service-related activities.

For billing information, please contact Susan Muscato-Smith.

1

Users of the Structural Biology and Biophysics Facility who investigate HIV, AIDS, or opportunistic infections (OI) related to AIDS, could be eligible for a subsidy from the University of Rochester Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) in order to support their use of the facility.

CFAR Requirements

CFAR-User Subsidy when conducting AIDS-Related Research at the University of Rochester's Structural Biology and Biophysics Facility

Criteria for eligibility are either extramural or internal (UR) funding for HIV/AIDS/OI research, or the investigator is the recipient of a CFAR pilot grant.

Investigators who wish to take advantage of the subsidy must receive approval from CFAR at least one week prior to scheduled use of the Facility. Subsidies for consultation services and/or facility use are available as well.

Send requests for subsidy approval by e-mail to CFAR Basic Sciences Core Director Dr. Sanjay Maggirwar. Include in your request:

• Name
• Eligibility criteria
• Project title
• A brief description of the proposed work

If the subsidy is granted, it is mandatory that the investigator report to CFAR in a timely manner the value added to his/her research program as a consequence of using the Structural Biology and Biophysics Facility. Acknowledgment of CFAR support is also required in any resulting description (i.e. meeting presentation, publication, etc) of the research performed at the Facility. This information will be used to help justify continued support for CFAR from NIH. Further information regarding the CFAR and reporting requirements will be shared with investigators who receive a subsidy.

For additional information, please contact Laura Enders, CFAR Administrator.

2

Requires initial training.

3

All in-person contacts will incur a half-hour charge up to the first 30 min and a 1 hr charge in hourly increments thereafter.

4

Users will be charged a fee of $8 per 24-well plate if they choose to perform manual setups. Coverslips and some types of pipette tips can be provided. Users who supply their own crystallization reagents will receive a reduced rate.

5

Users will be charged a maximum fee of $600 for any X-ray data collection experiment that lasts longer than 10 hrs. There may an additional cost for LN2 usage which can be charged directly to a users account through Airgas.

6

The first hour fee includes the cost of Dr. Jenkins’s time for purging the instrument with nitrogen gas and shutting it off after the user is done. The subsequent hourly fee is to cover nitrogen use and the eventual replacement of Xenon lamp. All new users should contact Dr. Jenkins before signing-up using our web-based calendar so training can be arranged at an additional cost of $40 per hour. Users are requested to notify Dr. Jenkins of any cancelations or time changes 10 minutes before the scheduled start, or a $15 fee will be charged.

7

The cuvette fee covers the time required for Dr. Jenkins to clean the cuvette. This charge is waived for users who bring own cuvette, which is encouraged.