History of Genomic Resources
History of Genomic Resources at UAMN
Early years
UAMN has maintained a frozen tissue collection for over two decades. Joseph Cook,
the museum’s first mammal curator, obtained two ultra-cold mechanical freezers (one
new, the other originally purchased in 1982) in 1992. These two freezers and their
contents (which at the time consisted almost entirely of bird and mammal tissues)
were christened the Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection (AFTC). That same year, Cook and
Mammal Collection manager Gordon Jarrell were awarded a grant from the Coastal Marine
Institute for the creation of a half-time graduate assistantship for the AFTC. A 1999
grant from NSF (DBI-) to Cook and Jarrell included funds to upgrade the half-time graduate position to
a full-time coordinator of the AFTC—a position Jarrel held until his retirement—as
well as funds to purchase another ultra-cold. Two additional ultra-colds were also
acquired that year. In 2000, Cook, Jarrell, bird curator Kevin Winker, and several
other CoPIs at UAMN were awarded an NSF grant (DEB-) to purchase one more ultra-cold as older units began to fail. In 2001, the AFTC
was renamed Genetic Resources in the process of the museum expansion to make the name
more modern and palatable to donors and funding agencies. Winker and Cook were awarded
funds from an institutional NSF EPSCoR award (EPS-) to purchase two new ultra-colds to both accommodate continued rapid growth of the
collection and to stay ahead of freezer attrition.
New facility, new technologies
In 2003, the Mammal Collection began using barcoded cryovials to capitalize on Arctos’
recently developed object-tracking functionality and has continued to barcode new
accessions ever since. In early 2005 all the ultra-cold freezers were moved from an
anteroom off the loading dock to a newly constructed 556-ft 2 dedicated facility in the lower level with the other collections, preparation labs,
and curators’ and collection managers’ offices.
Genetic Resources entered a new phase in 2005 when funds from another NSF EPSCoR grant
(EPS-) were used to purchase and install a liquid nitrogen (LN2) plant, three LN2 cryovats,
two LN2 transfer dewars, and an oxygen sensor. Jarrell together with staff from the
mammal and bird collections began migrating samples from mechanical freezers into
the cryovats as well as installing newly collected material into LN2. In 2008, Jarrell
retired and recently graduated 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø master’s student Aren Gunderson was hired as coordinator.
In 2009 Genetic Resources was rebranded Genomic Resources and an annual operating
budget was approved to pay for the increasingly frequent freezer repairs as well as
maintenance of the LN2 system. Gunderson was hired as the collection manager of mammals
in 2011 but continued to maintain Genomic Resources together with staff from the Bird
Collection, a stopgap that quickly proved unsustainable.
At long last, a dedicated Collection Manager!
In recognition of the rapidly growing importance and use of UAMN’s Genomic Resources
and the need for a more stable staffing solution, a major milestone was reached in
2012 when the museum director together with the 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø provost approved the creation
of a permanent, full-time Genomic Resources Collection Manager position. It also marked
the first such position at UAMN not affiliated with a single collection but rather
resources—associated with voucher specimens housed in several different collections—requiring
similarly specialized care. A globally advertised search resulted in the hiring of
51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø and UAMN alumnus Kyndall Hildebrandt, who at the time was working at the U.S.
National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian).
Genomic Resources today
UAMN’s Genomic Resources continues to support cutting-edge research—much of it funded
by the National Science Foundation—in a growing number of scientific disciplines.
As of 2014, over 150 publications have resulted from research conducted on samples
borrowed from Genomic Resources, and countless more have used these published results
in subsequent studies. At the same time, active collecting and collaboration with
multiple management agencies and other entities guarantees continued growth of this
one-of-a-kind resource.
Finally, the facility has become a ‘must-see’ for visitors of all kinds and ages.
The many 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø classes that request (and are given) Genomic Resources tours and lectures
include Genetics, Evolution, Molecular Evolution, Molecular Ecology, Conservation
Genetics, Population Genetics, Systematics, Mammalogy, Ornithology, Entomology, Ichthyology,
and several Summer Sessions courses. Regular tours are also given to K-12 classes
as young as 2nd grade and on up to high school students enrolled in forensics classes,
the Rural Alaska Honors Institute, and the Alaska Summer Research Academy. Every year
hundreds of mostly local visitors (including many families with children) pass through
Genomic Resources during behind-the-scenes tours provided at UAM’s annual Open House
and Halloween events. Visiting scientists, dignitaries, and politicians are regularly
treated to tours as well. Interested in a tour? Contact Mallory Gulbranson.
