Every great invention requires two things: an idea and the necessary resources. Life science and research are no different. For every novel compound, new vaccine and therapeutic, there is a research tool that helped advance the idea and hopefully becoming the next innovation in health.
“Research tools are reagents, kitted products and even services which enable researchers to make new scientific discoveries,” says Rob Burgess, VP Global Business Development at RayBiotech, Inc. “Research tools streamline and normalize the scientific discovery process.”
Research tools come in many forms, including antibodies, assays, cell lines and more. Erwin Van Meir, PhD, Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Laboratory for Molecular Neuro-Oncology describes these tools as “the researchers’ equivalent to the mason’s trowel used to put together bricks and mortar into house walls.”
Research tools are often developed from scratch in the laboratory, but can also be purchased from companies which specialize in their development and manufacturing. “Research tools are created by a variety of techniques, one of them being genetic engineering,” says Van Meir. Often the development of the tools is in order to fill a specific need in the lab. “We buy and design plasmids, cell lines, and antibodies to name a few.”
“RayBiotech develops and markets protein array, ELISA and related research tools,” says Burgess. “Research tools acquired from companies tend to have more consistency in performance characteristics than home-brew tools.”
Whether developed in the lab of a university or a company, research tools make it possible to develop the therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines we have today. OTT manages over 200 available research tools developed by Emory researchers, including Van Meir’s. “Research tools are as important to our work as Home Depot or Lowe’s are to the home builder!”