MRI: Acquisition of a Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-SEM) for Large Volume 3 Dimensional Imaging of Whole Cells

耶鲁大学被授予实施最先进的聚焦离子束扫描电子显微镜(FIB-SEM)系统的奖项。它为研究细胞及其细胞器的三维结构和功能提供了一个强大的新工具--特别是那些需要高分辨率但大体积视图的细胞。它还将允许进行新的相关研究，弥合光学显微镜(包括超分辨率)和电子显微镜之间的差距。更广泛的影响是多方面的。该仪器将被集成到耶鲁CCMI电子显微镜核心设施和基础设施中，这些设施正是为这种多用户设备而创建的。该仪器将用于培训下一代科学家和生物工程师的定量成像，促进生物、工程和物理科学之间的新的跨学科研究。学生多样性是一个强有力的重点，并将通过耶鲁大学现有的外展计划在多个方面积极促进。3D EM数据集将在立体虚拟现实(VR)平台上渲染，这样任何人都可以进入细胞。因此，大量高分辨率的体数据不仅将推动基础科学的发展，还将有助于教育和激励广泛而多样化的受众。新的FIB-SEM系统将使人们能够对细胞和组织结构如何影响功能进行新的科学研究，项目包括神经元如何沟通，初级纤毛、高尔基复合体、吞噬小体和内质网等细胞器的形式和功能。主要用户群体包括生物科学、工程学和计算机科学等广泛科学学科的领导者。新系统将作为焦点，教职员工、博士后实习生和来自不同系的学生相互互动和帮助，以实现共同的成像和分析目标。该仪器不仅是研究细胞内功能的极有价值的工具，而且对于解决细胞间通信的项目也是如此，例如神经系统和免疫系统中发生的那些通信。

An award is made to Yale University to implement a state-of-the-art Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-SEM) system. It provides a powerful new tool to study the 3D structure and function of cells and their organelles - especially those that require high-resolution, yet large volumetric views. It will also allow new correlative studies that bridge the gap between light microscopy (including super-resolution) and electron microscopy. The broader impacts are multifaceted. The instrument will be integrated into the Yale CCMI Electron Microscopy Core Facility and infrastructure created precisely for such multi-user equipment. The instrument will be used to train the next generation of scientists and bioengineers in quantitative imaging, fostering new interdisciplinary research between biological, engineering and physical sciences. Student diversity is a strong focus and will be actively promoted on multiple fronts through established Yale outreach programs. 3D EM datasets will be rendered in a stereoscopic virtual reality (VR) platform so that anyone can voyage into cells. Thus, the large high-resolution volumetric data will not only propel basic science, but also help educate and inspire a broad and diverse audience. The new FIB-SEM system will enable new scientific research into how cell and tissue structure impacts function, with projects on how neurons communicate, how organelles such as primary cilia, Golgi complex, phagosomes, and the endoplasmic reticulum form and function. The main user group comprises leaders in a broad range of scientific disciplines stretching across the biological sciences, engineering, and computer sciences. The new system will act as a focal point, with faculty members, postdoctoral trainees, and students from different departments interacting and helping each other to reach common imaging and analysis goals. The instrument will be an extremely valuable tool not only for research on intracellular functions, but also for projects that address intercellular communications, such as those that occur in the nervous system and in the immune system.