MRI: Acquisition of a Spinning Disk Confocal Super-resolution Microscope for Transcriptomics Research at Boston University

生命科学中一些最有前途的前沿是由一种新型显微镜独特地实现的，这种显微镜使研究人员能够研究分子尺度的结构及其在活组织中发挥的功能。这是生物显微镜领域的一个重大变化。在这个项目中，波士顿大学（BU）的一个由工程师、科学家和医生组成的合作小组将获得一种新的超分辨率旋转盘共聚焦显微镜，并使用它来精确研究细胞内的基因表达如何发挥其赋予生命的功能，以及神经元如何在指导行为和创造记忆的大脑网络中相互连接和发出信号。使用这种变革性的仪器将促进生命科学和工程学科交叉的前沿研究，加强研究生和未来实践者的跨学科培训。这种共享研究工具的使用直接影响了波士顿大学的学术界，以及面向服务不足的群体和少数民族教育机构和社区学院教师的强大暑期项目。该项目将获得一台尼康CSU-W1-SoRa超分辨率旋转盘共聚焦显微镜，用于由BU光子中心管理的共享核心设施。这种最近商业化的显微镜提供了成像速度和分辨率的组合，包括生物显微镜领域的一个变化。它首次允许荧光成像具有足够的分辨率和帧率，可以实时以分子精度探索大量生物样品。通过显微镜独特的功能组合实现的变革性研究领域包括空间分解转录组学，一种将基因表达与细胞的空间组织联系起来的技术；多尺度连接组学，一种在活体神经系统中创建全面的三维神经连接图的技术；活细胞和组织成像，通过它可以研究活细胞、工程组织、类器官和整个生物体的结构和功能属性。这是波士顿大学校园里第一个这种类型的显微镜，它将成为波士顿大学生命科学和工程研究小组的主要资产，包括来自五个不同部门的九个主要用户。显微镜的高利用率是预期的，特别是考虑到仪器的声誉，稳健，交钥匙操作和无缝切换的成像模式。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Some of the most promising frontiers in life science are uniquely enabled by a new class of microscopes that allow researchers to study molecular-scale structures and the functions they perform within living tissue. This is a step-change in the field of biomicroscopy. In this project, a collaborative group of engineers, scientists, and physicians at Boston University (BU) will acquire a new super-resolution spinning-disk confocal microscope and use it to study precisely how gene expression within cells conduct their lifegiving functions and how neurons connect to and signal one another in brain networks that guide behavior and create memories. Access to this transformative instrument will catalyze cutting edge research at the intersection of life science and engineering disciplines, enhancing interdisciplinary training for graduate students and future practitioners. Use of this shared research instrument directly impacts BU's academic community, as well as robust summer programs oriented to underserved groups and teachers in minority serving educational institutions and community colleges.The project will acquire a Nikon CSU-W1-SoRa super- resolution spinning disk confocal microscope for a shared core facility managed by the BU Photonics Center. This recently commercialized microscope offers a combination of imaging speed and resolution that comprises a step-change in the field of biomicroscopy. It allows, for the first time, fluorescence imaging with resolution and frame rate sufficient to explore large biological sample volumes with molecular precision in real time. Transformative research areas that are enabled by the microscope's unique combination of features include spatially resolved transcriptomics, a technique to connect gene expression to the spatial organization of cells; multi-scale connectomics, a technique to create comprehensive three-dimensional maps of neural connectivity in a living nervous system; and live cell and tissue imaging, through which structural and functional attributes of living cells, engineered tissues, organoids, and whole organisms can be studied. The first of its type on the BU campus, this microscope will be a major asset for life-science and engineering research groups at BU, including nine major users from five different departments. High utilization of the microscope is anticipated, especially given the instrument's reputation for robust, turnkey operation and seamless switching among imaging modalities.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.