Separate equipment is essential to prevent contamination.
Joan Brugge, professor of cell biology, explained that most cell biologists grew up without FACS technology, which greatly simplifies analysis. John and Virginia Taplin established Funds for Discovery in 1992 to promote the development of marketable technologies. Taplin is providing equipment grants because it is easier for researchers to get individual research grants than to obtain funding for laboratory equipment. Brugge confirmed this reason, saying when she told her equipment supplier she was applying for money for the FACS, he laughed and said good luck. Luck it seems has come, in the form of the Funds for Discovery Program's new focus on equipment grants.