MRI: Acquisition of an integrated Zeiss 980 microscope with Airyscan 2 and FCS to advance multidisciplinary research, inclusive teaching, and outreach at Amherst College

MRI：采购配备 Airyscan 2 和 FCS 的集成 Zeiss 980 显微镜，以推进阿默斯特学院的多学科研究、包容性教学和推广

• 批准号: 2117798
• 负责人: Sally Kim
• 金额: $ 73.56万
• 依托单位: Amherst College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2117798&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; integrated; Zeiss; 980

An award is made to Amherst College to support the acquisition of a specialized light microscope that provides the resolution to visualize features in cells as small as 120 nm, approximately the size of a SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the ability to analyze the movement of single molecules in living cells. The instrument will expand the scope of research, currently not possible at the College, into exciting new areas. Additionally, the new multifunctional imaging system will be the flagship instrument of a new imaging facility in the recently opened integrated Science Center. The acquired microscope will become a shared resource open to investigators from all areas of scientific research across the community of local colleges and universities. Through the new imaging facility, this instrument will provide hands-on experience for students on a high-end imaging system and will greatly expand the offerings of established pre-matriculation and summer research initiatives aimed at recruiting, training, and retaining underrepresented STEM students on campus. The acquisition of this unique, multifunctional light microscope will not only modernize the institution’s imaging capabilities but will impact classroom offerings across disciplines, including biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and neuroscience. Working in partnership with the Beneski Museum of Natural History, a student-curated exhibit of images and videos will be created, speaking to the intersection of art and science through an initiative entitled “Molecules in Motion” (MiM). This will promote the science of the College’s scientists and students and increase the visibility of the work to the broadest audience while creating awareness of the remarkable developments in STEM to visualize the inner workings of molecules in living cells.The new fast, multifunctional, high-resolution microscope will transform researchers’ abilities to investigate intermolecular interactions and cellular processes. It will meet the growing demands of a variety of research programs ranging from high resolution studies of dynamic signal transduction and developmental processes in sea anemone and C. elegans to investigations of ultrafast cellular and organismal responses in neurons and zebrafish. The instrument’s capabilities to stimulate with light will enable studies of neural encoding of auditory function and motile responses to environmental stimuli in Dictyostellium. Access to single molecule dynamics will enable cross-disciplinary collaborations between chemistry around the application of custom fluorescent labels for biological imaging and investigations into the consequences of zinc dysregulation on amyloid protein in vitro and in neurons. This new microscope will amplify the researchers’ abilities to leverage their unique strengths in research, outreach, and training to bridge impactful scientific discoveries to a profound and enduring impact on the community.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.

向阿默斯特学院颁发了奖励，以支持获得专门的光学显微镜的获取，该显微镜提供了可视化细胞中小至120 nm的特征，大约与SARS-COV-2病毒的大小，以及分析活细胞中单分子运动的能力。该乐器将将目前在学院无法实现的研究范围扩展到令人兴奋的新领域。此外，新的多功能成像系统将是最近开放的集成科学中心新成像设施的旗舰工具。获得的显微镜将成为来自当地大学和大学社区各个科学研究领域的调查人员的共同资源。通过新的成像设施，该乐器将为高端成像系统的学生提供动手体验，并将大大扩展旨在招募，培训和留住校园中代表性不足的STEM学生的既定前注册和夏季研究计划的产品。获得这种独特的多功能光学显微镜的获取不仅将使机构的成像功能现代化，而且会影响跨学科的课堂产品，包括生物学，生物化学，生物物理学和神经科学。与贝内斯基自然历史博物馆合作，将创建一个由学生策划的图像和视频展览，并通过一项题为“ Motion In Motion In Motion In Motion”（MIM）的计划与艺术与科学的交集进行交谈。这将促进学院的科学家和学生的科学，并提高作品对最广泛的受众的可见性，同时提高对STEM中的显着发展的认识，以可视化活细胞中分子的内部作用。新的快速，多功能，高分辨率的显微镜将转变研究人员的能力，以调查细胞间相互作用和细胞间的过程。它将满足各种研究计划的不断增长的需求，包括对海葵的动态信号转导和发育过程的高分辨率研究，以及对神经元和斑马鱼的超快细胞和有机反应的研究。该仪器用光刺激的能力将能够研究听觉功能的神经元编码以及母亲对dictyostellium环境刺激的反应。访问单分子动力学将在化学之间实现跨学科的合作，围绕定制荧光标签在生物成像中的应用，并研究锌失调在体外和神经元中锌失调对淀粉样蛋白的后果。这种新的显微镜将放大研究人员在研究，外展和培训中利用其独特优势的能力，以将有影响力的科学发现桥接到对社区产生深远而持久的影响。这项奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的智力和更广泛影响的评估来通过评估来支持的。

项目成果

A conserved pressure-driven mechanism for regulating cytosolic osmolarity

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.061
• 发表时间: 2023-08-21
• 期刊: CURRENT BIOLOGY
• 影响因子: 9.2
• 作者: Velle，Katrina B.;Garner，Rikki M.;Fritz-Laylin，Lillian K.
• 通讯作者: Fritz-Laylin，Lillian K.