Acquisition of a Transmission Electron Microscope for Undergraduate Research and Teaching

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This NSF MRI grant funds the acquisition of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) at Randolph-Macon College (R-MC). R-MC is a small liberal arts and sciences institution with a long tradition of undergraduate student research. Faculty members maintain active research programs and mentor undergraduate research students in several ways, including credit-bearing independent studies, capstone research projects, and through the endowed Shapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program during the summer. Acquisition of a TEM will greatly enhance the research and teaching environment at R-MC by enabling undergraduate researchers to use state of the art equipment that will promote recruitment of students from all backgrounds into the sciences. Research projects to be supported by the TEM span a broad range of the life sciences and include: compartmentalization of mammalian sperm acrosomal matrix proteins to understand their role in fertilization; evaluating how parenting responses affect neuroplasticity in rats; ultrastructural analysis of motile cells in new fungal species; characterization of host-symbiont interactions in the bryozoan Bugula neritina and its bacterial symbionts; and understanding the regulation of autophagy in T cells during calorie restriction in mice. Collaborative research with investigators at other institutions will also be enabled. In addition, the TEM will be used in several undergraduate courses, including a new Advanced Microscopy course in which students will learn specimen preparation, digital image acquisition, and analysis of electron micrographs. Existing and newly developed outreach programs will engage students from local public schools in projects and demonstrations to stimulate their interest in science.