CHICAGO – August 15, 2012 – The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) gratefully announces that Beckman Coulter Life Sciences made an unrestricted contribution of $20,000 to the SLAS Endowment Fund.

“Beckman Coulter is the first company to step forward this year with major support for the SLAS Endowment Fund,” says SLAS President Dave Dorsett. “Their generosity ensures that SLAS will be able to continue to share much-needed funding for novel and innovative research initiatives that align with the scientific focus of the Society.”

“Beckman Coulter has historically supported SLAS as the leading organization supporting scientific advancements in the fields of laboratory automation and screening,” explained Chris Neary, vice president of product management and strategy, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. “As a participant in this field of science, the opportunity to support research through this endowment was in line with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences’ core values.”

Providing reagents, instruments, apparatus, labware and services, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences offers scientists user-friendly, integrated platforms. Leading workflow solutions are available for scientists using flow cytometry, centrifugation, laboratory automation, capillary electrophoresis, and genomic and particle analysis.

The SLAS Endowment Fund recently announced a $100,000 commitment to a University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry research program that is based on the development of novel technologies that serve as vehicles for therapeutic molecular compounds. The research team is led by Professor Dean Ho, PhD in collaboration with Professor Cun-Yu Wang, DDS, PhD, who is the No-Hee Park Endowed Professor and Chair of Oral Biology and Medicine at the UCLA School of Dentistry, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science who was recently honored with election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

According to Professor Ho, “The project involves the screening for and development of novel therapeutic compounds for the co-suppression of inflammation and tumor growth using a multi-functional nanodiamond-drug complex. Because it is believed that dual therapy against inflammation and cancer can mediate significantly enhanced treatment outcomes, the combinatorial screening for optimal drug combinations that are nanodiamond-modified to overcome chemoresistance may result in transformative advancements in the field.”

The purpose of the SLAS Endowment Fund is to provide start-up funding for research projects that have the potential to advance the disciplines, technologies and skills involved in screening and molecular discovery, including support of graduate and undergraduate training in these areas. “The SLAS Endowment Fund is an important component of our organization,” says SLAS President Dave Dorsett. “It broadens our reach and impact in the scientific community, and it speaks directly to our mission to provide forums for education and information exchange to encourage the study of, and improve the science and practice of, laboratory automation and screening.”

“We are extremely grateful that Beckman Coulter continues to partner with SLAS in so many ways,” says SLAS CEO Greg Dummer. “Their partnership exemplifies the SLAS spirit of scientific community, which recognizes that as mutual stakeholders, we can learn and grow together.”