MRI: Acquisition of High-Throughput Fluorescence Imaging System for Undergraduate Research and Teaching at Pace University

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An award is made to Pace University to acquire an automated high-resolution imaging system for screening large numbers of fluorescent zebrafish larvae and cancer cells. This automated imaging system will dramatically enhance scientific research at Pace University. Beyond being used by researchers at Pace University, the imaging system will also be integrated into the scientific training of undergraduate students enrolled in upper-division Biology and Chemistry courses. Students in these courses will gain hands-on research experiences and improve their quantitative and analytical skills as they work through the large datasets that they will collect. The use of the system in teaching laboratories will allow us to pursue inquiry-based projects within upper-level biology classes, exposing many more students to authentic scientific experimentation and discovery. The automated high-resolution fluorescence imaging system will be used to tackle a broad range of important questions from the fields of neuroscience, developmental biology, cancer biology, and biophysical chemistry. Furthermore, this imaging system will facilitate and promote interdepartmental research collaborations between the Biology and Chemistry departments, and engage undergraduates in publishable research. This imaging system will allow faculty and students to determine how various genes impact neural circuits, to identify key genes governing sensory organ development and regeneration, to examine cell proliferations, and to work on other topics. The results from the research obtained with this imaging system will be shared via scientific meetings and published in peer-reviewed journals.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.