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.

阿默斯特学院获奖，以支持购买一种专门的光学显微镜，该显微镜提供了显示小至120 nm的细胞特征的分辨率，大约是SARS-CoV-2病毒的大小，并能够分析活细胞中单分子的运动。该仪器将把学院目前不可能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成为最近开放的综合科学中心新成像设施的旗舰仪器。收购的显微镜将成为一个共享资源，向当地高校社区内所有科学研究领域的研究人员开放。通过新的成像设施，该仪器将在高端成像系统上为学生提供实践体验，并将极大地扩大现有的预科和暑期研究计划的提供范围，旨在招收、培训和留住校园内代表性较低的STEM学生。收购这种独特的多功能光学显微镜不仅将使该机构的成像能力现代化，还将影响跨学科的课堂教学，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，通过一项名为“运动中的分子”(MIM)的倡议向艺术和科学的交叉点发表讲话。这将促进学院的科学家和学生的科学，并提高工作对最广泛的受众的可见度，同时创造对STEM的显著发展的认识，以可视化活细胞中分子的内部工作。这种新的快速、多功能、高分辨率显微镜将改变研究人员研究分子间相互作用和细胞过程的能力。它将满足各种研究项目日益增长的需求，从海葵和线虫动态信号转导和发育过程的高分辨率研究，到神经元和斑马鱼的超快细胞和组织反应的研究。该仪器具有用光刺激的能力，这将使人们能够研究Dictyostellium中听觉功能的神经编码和对环境刺激的运动反应。单分子动力学的获得将使化学之间围绕应用定制荧光标记进行生物成像，以及研究锌失调对体外和神经元中淀粉样蛋白的影响进行跨学科合作。这一新的显微镜将放大研究人员的能力，利用他们在研究、推广和培训方面的独特优势，将有影响力的科学发现连接到对社区产生深远和持久影响的桥梁。这一奖项反映了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。

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.