MRI: Acquisition of a laser scanning confocal microscope within a core facility for research and training at Illinois State University

伊利诺伊州立大学(ISU)获得了一台多通道激光扫描共聚焦显微镜。该仪器将为ISU物理、化学和生物科学专业的学生和教职员工以及中西部地区的机构提供先进的成像能力。作为ISU生物科学显微镜核心设施的核心，该显微镜将极大地增强ISU的研究基础设施，使细胞和组织的高分辨率三维重建、活样本中动态细胞过程的延时成像以及先进的荧光技术成为可能。执行支助大学多样化的本科生群体将能够利用该设施作为有指导的独立研究项目的一部分；预计每年有50多名本科生研究人员通过这种培训学习广泛有用的STEM技能。K-12年级的学生将通过几个正在进行的扩展项目，如伊利诺伊州夏季研究院，接触到细胞、组织、光学显微镜、生物技术和神经科学的概念。来自科学界代表性不足的群体的学生将通过ISU的路易斯·斯托克斯少数群体参与联盟被招募参加培训。未来和现有的K-12科学教师将接受关于该仪器的培训，以获得实际研究经验，例如，在国家科学基金会资助的项目“为代表性不足群体的STEM教师提供诺伊斯奖学金”。每年将有20-30名研究生使用该设施寻求新的研究途径，最终为伊利诺伊州的STEM劳动力贡献新的技能。该项目的积极社会影响还包括农业和环境方面的进步。它将促进美国农业部资助的一品红作为一种新的冬季覆盖作物的开发，减少土壤侵蚀和贫瘠田地的氮素径流，同时生产用于生产生物燃料的油籽。该显微镜将支持七个主要研究实验室的项目，促进遗传学、细胞生物学、发育、神经科学和植物科学的知识。项目包括：对应对衰老和氧化应激的蛋白质质量控制的调控；控制植物细胞定向生长的蛋白质之间的相互作用；真菌中基因沉默和减数分裂驱动的机制；新合成的化学物质对寄生利什曼原虫的影响；线虫如何探测和响应磁场；细胞皮质细胞骨架在生物体发育和组织维持中的体内作用；以及感觉输入和神经调节器对神经活动的调节。该奖项提供的新能力将使用户能够扩大他们的研究范围；该系统将具有广泛的激发波长；快速扫描；高灵敏度、低噪声的光子探测器；低于200纳米的空间分辨率；以及荧光寿命数据。用户参与全国和国际研究合作，这些合作将通过增加的能力得到扩大和加强。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An award is made to Illinois State University (ISU) to acquire a multichannel laser scanning confocal microscope. The instrument will provide advanced imaging capabilities to ISU students and faculty in Physics, Chemistry, and Biological Sciences, as well as institutions across the Midwest region. As the centerpiece of the ISU Biological Sciences Microscopy Core Facility, the microscope will greatly enhance ISU's research infrastructure, enabling high-resolution three dimensional reconstructions of cells and tissues, time-lapse imaging of dynamic cellular processes in live samples, and advanced fluorescence techniques. ISU's diverse population of undergraduates will be able to use the facility as part of mentored independent research projects; over 50 undergraduate researchers per year are projected to learn widely useful STEM skills through this training. K-12 students will be exposed to concepts in cells, tissues, light microscopy, biotechnology, and neuroscience, through several ongoing outreach programs such as the Illinois Summer Research Academy. Students from groups underrepresented in science will be recruited for training via ISU's Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Future and current K-12 science teachers will train on the instrument to gain practical research experience, for example in the NSF-funded project "Noyce Scholarships for STEM Teachers of Under-Represented Groups". 20-30 graduate students/year will use the facility to pursue new avenues of research, ultimately contributing new skills to the Illinois STEM workforce. Positive societal impacts of the project also include agricultural and environmental advances. It will promote the USDA-funded development of pennycress as a new winter cover crop, reducing soil erosion and nitrogen runoff from barren fields while profitably producing oilseed for generating biofuels.The microscope will support the projects of seven main research labs, advancing knowledge in genetics, cell biology, development, neuroscience, and plant science. Projects include: regulation of protein quality control in response to aging and oxidative stress; interactions among proteins that control directional growth of plant cells; mechanisms of gene silencing and meiotic drive in fungi; effects of newly synthesized chemicals on parasitic Leishmania; how nematode worms detect and respond to magnetic fields; in vivo roles of the cell's cortical cytoskeleton in organismal development and tissue maintenance; and regulation of neural activity by sensory inputs and neuromodulators. New capabilities provided by the award will allow users to expand the scope of their research; the system will feature a broad range of excitation wavelengths; rapid scanning; high-sensitivity, low noise photon detectors; sub-200 nm spatial resolution; and fluorescence lifetime data. The users engage in nation-wide and international research collaborations, which will be expanded and strengthened by the added capabilities.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.