MRI: Acquisition of integrated laser scanning/spinning disk confocal microscopy system to advance multidisciplinary research and training at Mount Holyoke College

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An award is made to Mount Holyoke College to acquire an integrated laser scanning/spinning disk confocal microscopy system that will enhance the diverse research and teaching needs of its faculty. This equipment will considerably strengthen STEM education at the oldest women's college in the country by promoting new and innovative microscopy-associated course offerings across the Life and Physical Science curriculum. Students will be afforded hands-on training with the most current and powerful instrumentation to both prepare them for the job market and enhance their candidacy for graduate-level education. The microscope will also be used as the focus of campus wide events specifically geared towards increasing representation of students of color in STEM fields.The confocal microscope will transform scientific inquiry of Mount Holyoke faculty spanning a variety of disciplines, organisms, model systems and preparations. The number of undergraduate-driven research activities in biology, neuroscience, chemistry, psychology, and physics will be increased by expanding opportunities for senior thesis research and summer internship projects ranging from fine-scale interrogations of cellular interactions to particle fluid dynamics and intracellular signaling pathways. The versatility of this microscopy system will transform the research and teaching platforms across STEM disciplines at Mount Holyoke College and provide new opportunities that prepare a diverse student body to work in cutting-edge research fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.