MRI: Acquisition of Spinning Disk Confocal for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Undergraduate Teaching and Training

巴特勒大学获得了一台旋转圆盘共聚焦显微镜。巴特勒大学主要是印第安纳波利斯的一所本科院校，致力于教学和研究的整合。这台共焦显微镜将加强本科生和硕士研究生的培训和教育，他们将是该仪器的主要用户。接触现代显微技术将使这些学生为研究生学习或在STEM劳动力中的职位做好准备。这台显微镜也将作为生物科学系一门新的显微镜课程的一部分。在这门课程中，巴特勒本科生将接受不同类型显微镜应用的培训，并将参与使用旋转圆盘共聚焦显微镜的真实研究体验。除了巴特勒，本课程的学生还将设计一个显微镜模块，让印第安纳波利斯一所高中的学生参与进来，该高中服务于高比例的边缘群体学生。这一伙伴关系将增加STEM领域中代表性不足的学生参与其社区正在进行的研究和课程工作。最后，显微镜将免费提供给附近显微镜接触有限的机构的研究人员，从而提高该地区多个研究小组的生产率。旋转圆盘共聚焦显微镜将显著增强巴特勒大学教职员工和学生可以进行的成像实验类型。受影响的研究领域跨越生物、生物化学和制药科学，包括卵子发育、神经元信号、结核病感染、病毒附着和进入机制、基因表达调控以及神经递质受体结构和定位。旋转圆盘显微镜将允许教职员工和学生研究人员在受控环境中对细胞、组织或整个生物体进行高分辨率、长期的实时成像，并增加监测感兴趣的蛋白质或结构的动态和周转的能力；这些能力以前是校园现有仪器无法实现的。这种显微镜将极大地扩大教员的研究资源和生产力，并使学生接触到最先进的成像技术。这些研究的结果将通过同行评议的出版物和在地方、国家和国际研究会议上的陈述来传播。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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 Butler University to acquire a spinning disk confocal microscope. Butler University is a primarily undergraduate institution in Indianapolis, IN that has a strong commitment to the integration of teaching and research. This confocal microscope will enhance the training and education of undergraduate and master’s level researchers, who will be the main users of this instrument. Exposure to modern microscopy techniques will prepare these students for graduate studies or for positions in the STEM workforce. This microscope will also be used as part of a new microscopy course in the Department of Biological Sciences. In this course, Butler undergraduate students will be trained in the applications of different types of microscopy and will participate in authentic research experiences using the spinning disk confocal microscope. Reaching outside Butler, students in this course will also design a microscopy module to engage students at an Indianapolis high school serving a high percentage of students in marginalized groups. This partnership will increase the involvement of students underrepresented in STEM fields to research and coursework being done in their community. Finally, the microscope will be made available, free of charge, to researchers at nearby institutions with limited microscopy access, thereby increasing the productivity of multiple research groups in the area. The spinning disk confocal microscope will significantly enhance the types of imaging experiments that can be performed by faculty and students at Butler University. Spanning the disciplines of biology, biochemistry, and pharmaceutical sciences, impacted research areas include egg development, neuronal signaling, tuberculosis infection, mechanisms of virus attachment and entry, regulation of gene expression, and neurotransmitter receptor structure and localization. The spinning disk microscope will allow faculty and student researchers to perform high resolution, long-term live imaging of cells, tissues, or entire organisms in a controlled environment with the added ability to monitor the dynamics and turnover of proteins or structures of interest; these capabilities were not previously possible with the available instrumentation on campus. This microscope will greatly expand the faculty’s research resources and productivity and students’ exposure to state-of-the-art imaging techniques. The results from these studies will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local, national, and international research conferences.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.