MRI: Acquisition of two photon spatial light modulation microscope for all optical reading and writing into tissues

得克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校(UTSA)被授予建立显微镜基础设施的奖项，该基础设施将加强生物医学、物理学、神经科学和分子生物学的研究人员。该仪器将通过在活细胞/组织样本上引入“闭环”实验来扩大UTSA的研究能力。这将使研究人员能够同时以光学方式实时获取和处理精确的时空信号。除了加强研究，该资产还将为学生培训提供技术掌握和跨学科科学交流方面的研讨会计划。来自参与实验室的学生将熟练地对技术、协议、应用和从他们的研究中获得的结果进行通俗和专业的解释。学生制作和讲述的计算机演示文稿和培训视频的汇编将向非专业公众提供，并纳入学生管理的维基百科页面，作为公共科学素养推广计划的一部分。显微镜的不同用户的共同目标是获取或“读取”嵌入复杂网络的细胞的活动，同时“写入”细胞或亚细胞隔间的刺激。该显微镜的革命性技术可以提供精确的三维时空光图案。这一独特的能力将使研究人员能够测量复杂蜂窝网络的输入-输出传递函数，并解决以前不可能解决的广泛的科学问题。设备设计将是灵活的，以适应来自组织、整个动物和植物的准备。显微镜单元将提高研究的严谨性，成为多学科合作的核心，并将改变UTSA的研究和培训格局。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 the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to establish microscopy infrastructure that will enhance investigator research in biomedicine, physics, neuroscience, and molecular biology. The instrument will expand research capacity at UTSA by introducing "closed-loop" experimentation on live cell/tissue samples. This will allow researchers to simultaneously optically acquire and manipulate precise spatiotemporal signals in real-time. In addition to research enhancement, the asset will serve student training with a program of workshops in technical mastery and cross-discipline science communication. Students from participating laboratories will develop proficiency in lay and specialized explanations of the technology, protocols, applications, and results obtained from their research. A compilation of student produced and narrated computer presentations and training videos will be made available to the lay public, and incorporated into student-curated Wikipedia pages as part of a public-science literacy outreach initiative.The shared goal among the diverse users of the microscope is to acquire or "read" the activity of cells that are embedded in a complex network while "writing in" stimuli in cellular or sub-cellular compartments. The microscope's revolutionary technology allows delivery of precise three-dimensional spatio-temporal patterns of light. This unique capability will allow researchers to measure input-output transfer functions of complex cellular networks and address an expansive range of scientific questions not previously possible. The equipment design will be flexible, in order to accommodate preparations from tissues, whole animals, and plants. The microscopy unit will enhance research rigor and become a nucleus for multi-disciplinary collaboration, and will transform the research and training landscape of UTSA.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.