The fire started in the lab of Manuel Ares, chair of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, and also gutted the adjoining lab occupied by Jane Silverthorne. The cause of the fire is unknown, although a computer was stolen from the Ares lab a few days before the fire. "The connection is unclear at this point, but the investigation is ongoing," says Ares.
Three graduate students in the Ares lab lost varying amounts of data and reagents. "Valerie Welch is a third-year student who stands to lose the most. She was developing arrays to monitor alternative splicing in human cells, focusing on cancer- and apoptosis-related genes. She lost most of her oligo set [approximately 600 oligos] and all of her arrays," says Ares. Silverthorne is on academic leave working with the National Science Foundation, and her lab has been dormant for the last few months.
Building safety features and a quick ...
