-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，用于部分资助购置用于生物学研究和培训的光谱共焦显微镜。这类仪器越来越多地被用来详细分析荧光分子在细胞非常特定的区域的分布。与特定的荧光标记探针分子一起，该仪器将被生物系成员用于他们的研究和教学。本科生也将能够使用它，这种培训将成为他们研究经验的重要组成部分。共焦显微镜的加入将大大加强显微镜方面的研究和培训基础设施。团队中的每个成员都将把共焦显微镜整合到他或她的研究计划中。各种项目包括研究哺乳动物细胞膜中发现的蛋白质之间的相互作用，青蛙调节其昼夜周期的机制，哺乳动物细胞中最终形成通讯通道(缝隙连接)的蛋白质在哺乳动物细胞内的产生和适当定位的研究，控制昆虫幼虫表面结构形状的影响的研究，以及甲虫发育过程的详细形态分析。每名教员都将包括从事独立研究项目的本科生。这些项目经常导致在国家会议上作陈述，并在同行评议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计划和执行，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来推进生物学前沿的研究，同时为研究型学生的直接教育做出贡献。此外，显微镜将被用作向圣十字学生和更广泛的社区进行教育宣传的中心。学生可以在几门生物学中级课程中进行演示和短期项目。满足通识教育要求的非专业学生将有机会看到这一最先进的工具在操作中。来自伍斯特联盟其他八所学院和大学之一的教师和他们的学生已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“成像生活”的项目，其中将包括展示共焦显微镜。这些更广泛的努力将有助于吸引和留住生命科学研究的学生，并为当地社区提供科学事业的股份。

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.