Acquisition of a Spectral Confocal Microscope: Teaching and Research Explorations in Biological Sciences in an Undergraduate College Setting

获奖摘要9977366 Barbara Beltz Wellesley Colledge获得光谱共焦显微镜：本科院校生物科学的教学和研究探索设置共焦显微镜处于解剖学、生理学、生化和分子技术的交界处。因此，激光显微镜正迅速成为生物技术的核心，也是各系努力建设一流教学和研究设施的标准设备。获得这一奖项后，韦尔斯利学院生物科学系将购买一台徕卡TCS SP光谱共聚焦显微镜。这款显微镜是我们对下一代学生的一项重要投资。卫尔斯理在女科学家教育方面的卓有成效的记录，以及它最近在吸引更多未被充分代表的少数群体进入科学领域方面的进展，预示着这一工具在研究培训方面将产生持续的影响。卫尔斯理学院的主要任务是女性本科生教育。这一承诺在科学界具有特殊的意义，在科学界，妇女的代表性传统上是不足的。在生物科学系，由12名永久全职教员组成的教职员工在教学和研究方面都保持着高标准。绝大多数教职员工都有校外资金，用于支持也专注于培养本科生的生产性研究项目。因此，共聚焦显微镜不仅将对研究培训产生影响，还将为我们的大部分教员改善研究环境。本申请中描述的7个项目代表了多种生物学研究方法：原核系统研究；细胞生理学(哺乳动物细胞培养中的细胞凋亡)；脊椎动物和无脊椎动物系统的神经科学；植物细胞生理学(拟南芥细胞骨架)。因此，共焦显微镜的获得将影响该系广泛的教职员工和本科生基础，以及韦尔斯利学院生物科学系课程中的具体课程。

Award Abstract9977366Barbara BeltzWellesley CollegeAcquisition of a Spectral Confocal Microscope: Teaching and Research Explorations in Biological Sciences in an Undergraduate College settingConfocal Microscopy is poised at the interface between anatomical, physiological, biochemical, and molecular techniques. The laser microscope therefore is rapidly becoming a centerpiece in biological technology, and instrument that should be included as standard equipment for departments striving toward excellent teaching and research facilities. With this award, a Leica TCS SP Spectral Confocal Microscope will be purchased for the Biological Sciences Department at Wellesley College. This microscope is a critical investment in our next generation of students. Wellesley's productive record in education of women scientists, along with its recent progress in attracting more underrepresented minorities to the sciences, bodes well for the sustained impact on this instrument on research training.The primary mission at Wellesley College is the undergraduate education of women. This commitment has taken on a special meaning in the sciences where women have traditionally been underrepresented. In the Biological Sciences Department, the permanent full-time faculty of 12 members maintains high standards for both teaching and research. The vast majority of faculty has extramural funding that supports productive research programs that also are focused on training undergraduate students. Therefore, the confocal microscope will not only have an impact on research training, but will also enhance the research environment for a high proportion of our faculty.The 7 projects that are described in this application represent a wide variety of approaches to biological research: studies of prokaryotic systems; cell physiology (apoptosis in mammalian cell cultures); neurosciences in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems; cell physiology in plants (Arabidopsis cytoskeleton). The acquisition of the confocal microscope will therefore impact a broad base of faculty and undergraduate research students in the department, as well as specific courses in the curriculum at Wellesley College Biological Sciences Department.