Equipment: MRI: Track 2 Acquisition of a Tundra Cryo-electron microscope

布兰迪斯大学获得了一台Thermo-Fisher苔原冷冻电子显微镜。这种显微镜将能够在大分子水平上可视化和分析复杂的结构，并将汇集从材料科学和化学到细胞、分子和结构生物学等不同领域的研究人员，从而促进跨学科合作。它将向布兰代斯和当地的研究人员提供。显微镜还将对教育、培训和推广产生重大影响。它将通过为本科生、研究生和博士后学者开设的实践课程和讲习班，帮助培训下一代科学家，包括那些来自代表性不足的群体的科学家。此外，针对高中生的外展计划将增加公众的科学知识和理解。苔原低温电子显微镜的研究项目跨越了不同的科学领域，包括生物材料、细胞和生物结构的研究。例如，几组研究人员将使用冷冻电子显微镜来了解分子如何自组装成更大的结构，以及如何利用这些相同的设计原则来创造新的合成纳米材料。其他研究小组将使用该仪器研究细胞膜和蛋白质的形状和功能。苔原显微镜对于捕捉详细图像和确定这些分子的结构将是必不可少的。总体而言，显微镜将促进对生物分子如何结构和功能的了解，这对于理解生命是如何工作的，以及从生物学中获得灵感以创造供人类使用的下一代材料具有重要意义。该奖项反映了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。

An award is made to Brandeis University to acquire a Thermo-Fisher Tundra cryo-electron microscope. This microscope will enable visualization and analysis of complex structures at the macromolecular level, and will bring together researchers from diverse fields, ranging from materials science and chemistry to cell, molecular, and structural biology, thus fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. It will be available to researchers at Brandeis and in the local region. The microscope will also have a significant impact on education, training, and outreach. It will help train the next generation of scientists, including those from underrepresented groups, through hand-on courses and workshops for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. In addition, outreach programs for high school students will increase scientific knowledge and understanding among the public. The research projects enabled by the Tundra cryo-electron microscope span different scientific fields including the study of biomaterials, cells, and biological structures. For example, several groups of researchers will use cryo-electron microscopy to understand how molecules self-assemble into larger structures, as well as how those same design principles could be used to create new synthetic nanomaterials. Other groups will use the instrument to investigate the shapes and functions of cell membranes and proteins. The Tundra microscope will be essential for capturing detailed images and determining the structures of these molecules. Overall, the microscope will advance knowledge of how biological molecules are structured and how they function, which has important implications for understanding of how life works, and for taking inspiration from biology to create the next generation of materials for human use.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.