MRI: Acquisition of a laser scanning confocal microscope for use in research and teaching in the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Departments at Grinnell College

格林内尔学院获得了购买点扫描共聚焦显微镜系统的奖励。格林内尔学院一直积极参与和领导着改善科学教学法的努力，将主动学习技术纳入课堂，改善妇女和代表性不足群体接触科学的机会，并在整个课程中整合研究经验。该仪器将通过在研究实验室和现有实验课程中为教师及其学生提供新的研究可能性来支持这些努力。除此之外，研究人员还将创建并教授一门专门研究显微镜技术的新课程。更具体地说，他们将把拟议的仪器纳入一个现有的项目，为附近一所中等安全级别监狱的囚犯提供教育机会。此外，联合pi建议为地区文理学院开发一个研讨会，该研讨会将在格林内尔举办，目的是交流最佳实践，并共同设计使用荧光显微镜和/或共聚焦显微镜的实验，这些实验可供本科生在各种环境中使用。该奖项将支持生物学、生物化学、化学和物理学领域的一系列研究和教学/培训活动，包括：(1)研究神经肌肉连接处（NMJ）的突触可塑性；(2)检测光衍射极限以下的微管形成；(3)脊椎动物心脏发育过程中神经血管模式的表征和指导；(4)破译Ca2+水平在细胞迁移中的遗传控制；(5)不同蛋白在有丝分裂纺锤体功能调控中的时空活性特征；(6)检测烟碱乙酰胆碱受体的变构构象变化。该奖项将使格林内尔学院的教师和学生能够解决超出他们目前能力的问题。研究结果将在同行评议的期刊上发表，并在世界各地的科学会议上发表。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。

An award is made to Grinnell College to purchase a point-scanning confocal microscope system. Grinnell College has been an active participant and leader in efforts to improve science pedagogy by incorporating active learning techniques into the classroom, improving access to science for women and underrepresented groups, and integrating research experiences throughout the curriculum. This instrument will support these efforts by providing new research possibilities for faculty and their students, both in the research lab and in existing laboratory courses. Beyond this, the investigators will create and teach a new course dedicated to microscopy techniques. More specifically, they will incorporate the proposed instrument into an existing program that provides educational opportunities for inmates at a nearby medium security prison. Further, the co-PIs propose the development of a workshop for regional liberal arts colleges, to be hosted at Grinnell, the aim of which is to exchange best practices and work together to design experiments using fluorescence microscopy and/or confocal microscopy that are accessible to undergraduate students in a variety of settings. This award will support a range of research and teaching/training activities in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics including: (1) studying synaptic plasticity at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ); (2) detecting microtubule formation below the diffraction limit of light; (3) characterizing neurovascular patterning and guidance in the developing vertebrate heart; (4) deciphering the genetic control of Ca2+ levels in cell migration; (5) characterizing the spatiotemporal activity of various proteins in regulating mitotic spindle function; and (6) detecting allosteric conformational changes in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. This award will enable Grinnell College faculty and students to address questions that are beyond their current capability. The results will be disseminated in publications in peer-reviewed journals and in presentations at scientific conferences throughout the world.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.