-MRI-Acquisition of a Spectral Confocal Microscope for Research and Training in Biology

在玛丽·李·莱德贝特博士的指导下，向圣十字学院提供了一笔赠款，用于部分支持购置一台光谱共聚焦显微镜，用于生物学研究和培训。这种仪器越来越多地用于精细分析荧光分子在细胞特定区域的分布。连同特定的荧光标记探针分子，该仪器将用于生物系的成员在他们的研究和教学。本科生也将能够使用它，培训将构成他们的研究经验的重要组成部分。共聚焦显微镜的加入将大大加强显微镜的研究和培训基础设施。该团队的每个成员将整合共焦显微镜到他或她的研究计划。各种项目包括研究哺乳动物细胞膜中蛋白质之间的相互作用，青蛙调节昼夜节律的机制（日/夜）周期，研究哺乳动物细胞内蛋白质的产生和适当定位，最终形成沟通渠道（缝隙连接）在细胞接触其邻居的膜中，研究控制昆虫幼虫表面结构形状的影响，以及甲虫发育过程的详细形态学分析。每个教师将涉及从事独立研究项目的本科生。这些项目的成果往往是在国家会议上发表演讲，并在同行评审的期刊上共同撰写出版物。因此，对学生的教育益处远远超出了技术熟练程度，延伸到充分参与实验的规划和执行，以及传播他们的调查结果。该项目为团队提供了一个无与伦比的机会，以推进生物学前沿的研究，同时为研究生的直接教育做出贡献。此外，显微镜将被用作圣十字学生和更广泛的社区教育推广的核心。示范和短期项目将有可能在生物学的几个中级课程的学生。非专业满足他们的通识教育要求将有机会看到这个国家的最先进的工具在行动。来自伍斯特联盟其他八所学院和大学之一的教师和学生被邀请使用该仪器来加强他们的研究和培训活动。我们计划邀请当地公立高中的学生每年来校园几次，参加一个名为“成像生命”的项目，其中包括共聚焦显微镜的演示。这些更广泛的努力将有助于吸引和留住学习生命科学的学生，并使当地社区在科学事业中占有一席之地。

A grant has been awarded to the College of the Holy Cross under the direction of Dr. Mary Lee Ledbetter for partial support of acquisition of a spectral confocal microscope for research and training in biology. Such instruments are increasingly used to analyze in fine detail the distribution of fluorescent molecules in very specific regions of cells. Together with specific fluorescently labeled probe molecules, the instrument will be used by members of the Biology Department in their research and teaching. Undergraduate students will also be able to use it, and that training will constitute a vital part of their research experience. The addition of confocal microscopy will significantly enhance the research and training infrastructure in microscopy. Each member of the team will integrate the confocal microscope into his or her research program. Various projects include studies of interactions between proteins found in the membranes bounding mammalian cells, mechanisms by which frogs regulate their circadian (day/night) cycles, studies of the production and proper localization within mammalian cells of proteins that ultimately form communicating channels (gap junctions) in membranes where a cell touches its neighbors, studies of the influences that control the shapes of surface structures in insect larvae, and detailed morphological analysis of developmental processes in beetles. Each faculty member will involve undergraduate students pursuing independent research projects. These projects often result in presentations at national meetings and co-authored publications in peer reviewed journals. Thus the educational benefit to the student far transcends technical proficiency, extending to full participation in the planning and execution of experiments, and dissemination of the results of their investigations. The project offers an unparalleled opportunity for the team to advance research at the cutting edge of biology while contributing to the direct education of research students. In addition the microscope will be used as the centerpiece of educational outreach to both Holy Cross students and the wider community. Demonstrations and short-term projects will be possible for students in several intermediate courses in biology. Non-majors fulfilling their general education requirements will have a chance to see this state-of-the-art instrument in action. Faculty and their students from one of the eight other colleges and universities in the Worcester Consortium have been invited to use the instrument to enhance their research and training activities. And we plan to invite students from local public high schools to come to campus several times a year for a program, "Imaging Life," that will include demonstration of the confocal microscope. These broader efforts will help to attract and retain students in the study of the life sciences and offer the local community a stake in the scientific enterprise.