MRI: Acquisition of a high speed multiphoton laser-scanning microscope for research and training at UNLV

内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校 (UNLV) 获得了一项奖励，购买高速多光子激光扫描显微镜系统，以通过延时图像观察活体组织中细胞的行为。 UNLV 是内华达州南部唯一的研究型大学，也是该州最大的大学。扩大内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校研究活动的范围和影响是内华达州的高度优先事项，也是其经济多元化计划的一部分，超越博彩业和旅游业。 UNLV 共焦和生物成像核心为各种生物、环境和工程应用中的激光扫描荧光显微镜提供培训和支持。来自内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校和附近研究生专业大学的研究生接受定量荧光显微镜技术的基础和高级培训，推动实现培养多元化 STEM 劳动力的国家目标。研究生使用大部分核心仪器时间，并得到合作本科生研究人员的协助。此外，内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校的其他本科生将通过高级实验室课程模块体验新的多光子技术。 2015年，UNLV被评为美国最多元化的10所公立大学之一。 UNLV 也是一所为美洲原住民和太平洋岛民学生提供少数民族服务的机构，也是一所新兴的西班牙裔服务机构。将通过外展活动为附近高中以及两年制和四年制大学的学生提供参观和演示。为了进一步招收不同类型的学生学习 STEM 学科，将制作展示植物和动物组织内部运作的视频并在克拉克县 K-12 教室展示。拉斯维加斯科学咖啡馆的类似演示将通过向普通公众介绍活组织内细胞的迷人行为来提高科学素养。新购置的多光子激光扫描显微镜提供了先进的技术，可获取活体组织深度达 1 毫米的图像。该仪器将安装在 UNLV 共聚焦和生物成像核心中，以便内华达州的科学家和学生按照先到先得的原则使用。该仪器的可用性消除了将样本运送到其他州的障碍，并使内华达州研究人员能够以新的灵敏度和深度水平研究生命系统。高速成像技术减少了组织损伤并提高了灵敏度，可以检测几秒到几小时内快速变化的过程。这种类型的成像正在推动有关大脑以及细胞如何共同构建许多其他器官结构的意外发现。多光子激光扫描显微镜的先进功能将用于研究广泛的生物和工程系统，例如腺体分泌的激素控制、活体小鼠脑切片中的电振荡、眼组织的修复和再生、生物污染细菌的组织以及用于机器人和纳米技术的聚合物的电活性。

An award is made to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to acquire a high-speed multiphoton laser scanning microscope system to view the behaviors of cells in living tissues with time-lapse images. UNLV is the only research-intensive university in southern Nevada, and the largest in the state. Expansion of the scope and impact of UNLV research activities is a high priority for the State of Nevada, and part of its plan to diversify the economy beyond the gaming and tourism industries. The UNLV Confocal and Biological Imaging Core provides training and support for laser-scanning fluorescence microscopy in a wide array of biological, environmental, and engineering applications. Graduate students from across UNLV and nearby post-graduate professional universities receive basic and advanced training in quantitative fluorescence microscopy techniques, advancing the national goal of developing a diverse STEM workforce. Graduate students use the majority of Core instrument time, and are assisted by collaborating undergraduate researchers. In additional, other undergraduate UNLV students will experience the new multiphoton technology through modules in advanced laboratory coursework. In 2015, UNLV was ranked as one of the 10-most diverse public universities in the US. UNLV is also a Minority-Serving Institution for Native American and Pacific Islander students and an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution. Tours and demonstrations will be provided to students from nearby high schools and two-year and four-year colleges through outreach activities. To further recruit a diverse range of students to STEM disciplines, videos showing the inner workings of plant and animal tissues will be developed and presented in Clark County K-12 classrooms. Similar presentations for Science Café Las Vegas will enhance scientific literacy by introducing the lay public to the fascinating behaviors of cells within living tissues. The newly acquired multiphoton laser scanning microscope provides advanced technology to obtain images from living tissues to depths of 1 mm. This instrument will be located in the UNLV Confocal and Biological Imaging Core, so that it will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to scientists and students across Nevada. Availability of this instrument eliminates the barrier of transporting samples to other states, and enables Nevada researchers to study living systems at new levels of sensitivity and depth. The high-speed imaging technology decreases tissue damage and increases sensitivity, allowing detection of fast-changing processes over periods of seconds to hours. This type of imaging is driving unexpected discoveries about the brain and how cells work together to build the architecture of many other organs. The advanced capabilities of multiphoton laser scanning microscopy will be used to study a wide range of biological and engineering systems, such as hormonal control of gland secretion, electrical oscillations in living mouse brain slices, repair and regeneration of eye tissues, organization of bio-fouling bacteria, and electrical activity of polymers for robotics and nanotechnology.