MRI/Acquisition: Upgrading the Confocal Imaging Facility at the University of Puerto Rico to Enable Emission Fingerprinting

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Confocal Imaging Facility at University of Puerto Rico (CIF-UPR, www.cifupr.org) is located at the Río Piedras Campus (UPR-RP). CIF-UPR began operations on August 2001 sponsored by EPSCoR and NIH/NCRR grants and since then has strengthened research and research-related education at University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and provided services to other institutions as well. The current facility provides services to more than 10 investigators, 9 postdoctoral fellows, 14 Ph.D. students and 17 undergraduate students. CIF-UPR will be upgraded with a Zeiss LSM 510 META confocal microscope. This upgrade will enable fluorescence emission fingerprinting, an innovative method for the recording, analysis and separation of emission signals in multi-fluorescence imaging. Indeed, this upgrade will have a major impact on a list of research projects and applications that range from basic studies of ion channels, receptor trafficking, regeneration in the sea cucumber to neurophysiology of mammalian sensory structures. In addition, it will also foster and strengthen collaborative and multidisciplinary collaborations among investigators in UPR-RP and other institutions inside and outside Puerto Rico. Moreover, this upgrade will impact the development of a large population of minority students that are currently supported by fellowships or assistantships provided by federally sponsored programs. Finally, CIF-UPR is committed to continue to support the development and introduction of novel imaging techniques and equipment in Puerto Rico and to promote transfer of knowledge, technology, and training in their use within the entire University of Puerto Rico scientific community and private minority institutions.