MRI-R2: 120 kV Electron Microscope System for Sample Preparation, Biological Microscopy, Tomography, and Visualization of Protein Complexes

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Major Research Instrumentation-Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R2) award funds the acquisition of a 120 kV electron microscopy system and supporting sample preparation equipment at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Campus(UAMS). The equipment is tailored to the needs of a group of basic scientists in the Departments of Physiology and Biophysics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences at UAMS. The new microscope is also accessible to investigators at other regional institutions. This acquisition is a major step toward establishing the only such biological electron microscope facility in the state of Arkansas. Research utilizing the new system includes studies to understand elements of virology, golgi apparatus function, neuronal physiology, endocrine secretion, and many more topics. Both undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from the acquisition of this instrumentation as investigators are engaged in the training of Ph.D. students in research, and each summer there is significant participation of undergraduates in the collaborating laboratories. Results from the studies enabled by the new instrumentation will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals, and through students and faculty presentations at regional and national meetings.