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

布兰迪斯大学获得了一个奖项，以获得一个热费希尔苔原冷冻电子显微镜。这种显微镜将能够在大分子水平上对复杂结构进行可视化和分析，并将汇集来自不同领域的研究人员，从材料科学和化学到细胞，分子和结构生物学，从而促进跨学科合作。它将提供给布兰代斯和当地地区的研究人员。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提供实践课程和讲习班，帮助培训下一代科学家，包括来自代表性不足群体的科学家。此外，针对高中生的推广计划将增加公众的科学知识和理解。Tundra冷冻电子显微镜支持的研究项目跨越不同的科学领域，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低温电子显微镜来了解分子如何自组装成更大的结构，以及如何使用这些相同的设计原理来创建新的合成纳米材料。其他小组将使用该仪器研究细胞膜和蛋白质的形状和功能。Tundra显微镜对于捕捉详细的图像和确定这些分子的结构至关重要。总的来说，显微镜将推进生物分子的结构和功能的知识，这对理解生命如何运作，以及从生物学中获得灵感创造下一代人类使用的材料具有重要意义。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 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.