MRI Consortium: Acquisition of an Integrated System of Instruments for Multichannel Biopotential Recording of In-vitro and In-vivo Experiments

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An award is made to the Norfolk State University (NSU) to build an integrative research platform for neural recording and analysis and provide the resources for students, faculty and associated collaborators for their research activities from electronic and optical engineering, biology, computer science, nanotechnology, immunology, and neuroscience fields. The addition of this system to the existing research infrastructures will directly benefit and upgrade investigator?s research programs at NSU, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University, as well as the collaborative network capabilities in the Hampton Roads area. Applying the multichannel biopotential recording system, neural and cardiac potentials, and neurochemicals such as neurotransmitters can be measured in-vivo and in-vitro, and analyzed by embedded software. The instrument will be applied for the study of neural mechanisms underlying the interactions under various behavioral, stimuli, and disease conditions. In addition to the biopotential recording, the instrumentation will allow in-vivo assessment of neural sensing devices to be developed by engineering research. Furthermore, in-vivo and in-vitro real-time measurement and monitoring of sensing signal can be applied for the development of novel therapeutic treatment strategies of neurological disorders and degeneration.The outcomes of this synergetic research will be positively transferred to achieve their STEM educational and outreach goals, especially focused for under-represented minority (URM) students in the project?s leading institution, NSU, one of the largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the U.S. This project will specifically place a high priority on training of URM students in Hampton Roads region and extend their efforts to URM students nationwide through an aggressive set of research, training and outreach activities utilizing current outreach programs on each campus. The outcomes of this project will be incorporated in their Bioengineering Minor program curriculum. Furthermore, they will also integrate this infrastructure with activity of the newly created Hampton Roads Neuroscience Network.