MRI: Acquisition of a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope Facility for Interdisciplinary Live Cell Imaging

MRI：购买用于跨学科活细胞成像的激光扫描共焦显微镜设备

• 批准号: 1229489
• 负责人: Gregg Roman
• 金额: $ 56.54万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-08-01 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1229489&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Laser; Scanning; Confocal

This Major Research Instrumentation grant will support the acquisition of a fixed-stage upright confocal microscope and supporting computational infrastructure for Life Science research at the University of Houston. The acquired Leica confocal microscope will permit leading edge research into diverse areas of the life sciences including neurobiology and behavior, cell signaling, biochemistry and even evolution. Many established and junior investigators will use the advanced capabilities of the confocal microscope to address important questions, including: understanding the cellular mechanisms of memory formation, the dynamics and regulation of cytoskeleton function, and the biophysics of protein synthesis. This microscope is necessary both to maintain confocal capabilities of the University of Houston, and to expand the ability for investigations into new areas in biology and biochemistry. The state-of-the-art confocal microscope will permit advanced techniques such as uncaging neurotransmitters, fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET), and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). The microscope will also be used to establish collaborations with Computer Scientists to develop new solutions for computer assisted image analysis research. The collaboration between Life and Computer Scientists will facilitate new solutions for increasing the quality and quantity of data extracted from imaging experiments. The acquired confocal microscope and biological image analysis computer facility will also be used to train postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, including many underrepresented minorities. The University of Houston is the US?s second most ethnically diverse research university, and the 23rd largest in the United States. The Department of Biology and Biochemistry is the primary life science department at the University of Houston and has almost 3,000 undergraduate majors. Approximately 1/3rd of these majors are underrepresented minorities (11% African Americans, 21.5% Hispanic, 2% Native American). Many more of the Biology and Biochemistry undergraduates are also first generation college students. The confocal microscope will be used in undergraduate courses to train more than 400 undergraduate students per year and two graduate levels courses in cellular neuroscience, providing yearly training to approximately 20 graduate students in advanced microscopic techniques. The confocal microscope will be used further in new summer workshops on biological imaging for ~40 underrepresented minority undergraduate students. These trained undergraduates will be recruited into faculty labs for research projects that will use the acquired confocal microscope. The microscope will provide an attractive focus for engaging students to actively participate in life science and computer image analysis research programs. The confocal microscope and computer analysis facility will transform the scientific education of the Biology & Biochemistry and the Computer Science Students at the University of Houston.

这项主要研究仪器拨款将支持休斯顿大学购买一台固定台立式共聚焦显微镜，并支持生命科学研究的计算基础设施。 收购的徕卡共聚焦显微镜将允许对生命科学的各个领域进行前沿研究，包括神经生物学和行为，细胞信号传导，生物化学甚至进化。 许多已建立和初级研究人员将使用共聚焦显微镜的先进功能来解决重要问题，包括：了解记忆形成的细胞机制，细胞骨架功能的动态和调节，以及蛋白质合成的生物物理学。 这种显微镜是必要的，以保持休斯顿大学的共聚焦能力，并扩大在生物学和生物化学的新领域的调查能力。国家的最先进的共聚焦显微镜将允许先进的技术，如uncaging神经递质，荧光共振能量转移（FRET），和荧光恢复后光漂白（FRAP）。 该显微镜还将用于与计算机科学家建立合作，为计算机辅助图像分析研究开发新的解决方案。Life和计算机科学家之间的合作将促进新的解决方案，以提高从成像实验中提取的数据的质量和数量。获得的共聚焦显微镜和生物图像分析计算机设施也将用于培训博士后，研究生和本科生，包括许多代表性不足的少数民族。休斯顿大学是美国的吗？它是美国第二大种族多样性研究型大学，也是美国第23大大学。 生物学和生物化学系是休斯顿大学的主要生命科学系，拥有近3,000个本科专业。这些专业中约有三分之一是代表性不足的少数民族（11%非裔美国人，21.5%西班牙裔，2%美洲原住民）。 更多的生物学和生物化学本科生也是第一代大学生。共聚焦显微镜将用于本科课程，每年培训400多名本科生，以及两个细胞神经科学研究生课程，每年为大约20名研究生提供高级显微技术培训。 共聚焦显微镜将进一步用于新的夏季生物成像讲习班，为约40名代表性不足的少数民族本科生。这些训练有素的本科生将被招募到教师实验室的研究项目，将使用收购共聚焦显微镜。 显微镜将提供一个有吸引力的焦点，让学生积极参与生命科学和计算机图像分析研究计划。共聚焦显微镜和计算机分析设备将改变休斯顿大学生物学、生物化学和计算机科学学生的科学教育。