A Stereomicroscope Imaging System for Faculty-Student Research in the Microscopy Core Facility at Wake Forest University

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This award supports purchase of a research-grade, epifluorescence stereomicroscope together with a digital camera, image analysis system and a vibration-isolation table. The equipment will allow users to view and capture images of large, intact structures with the magnification permitted by a stereomicroscope, and to combine fluorescence with low magnification imaging. The equipment will be housed and maintained in the Microscopy Core Facility, where it will be accessible to all members of the Biology department and to members of other departments. The equipment will be used in diverse research programs that span four major focus groupings: Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics; Comparative Physiology and Behavior; Cellular and Molecular Biology; and Integrative Plant Biology. Within these broad groupings, faculty pursue research at the level of the intact organism by examining the structure and function of intact, often living organisms. The research uses include, among others, the study of in vivo responses to changing physiological conditions, the time-lapse imaging of animal behavior, and determination of gene expression and protein localization at the level of the whole organism. In addition to its role in research, the stereoscopic imaging system imaging will be used to expand the types of microscopy used in the training of significant numbers of undergraduate and graduate students, including use in formal coursework and individual projects.