Zeiss LSM 980 with Airyscan 2 for Imaging Core Facility

项目概要/摘要 本申请旨在寻求资金购买配备 Airyscan 2 的 Zeiss LSM 980 共焦，安装在 佐治亚州立大学 (GSU) 艺术与科学学院全校范围内的成像核心设施 支持 22 个 NIH 资助的研究项目、3 个 NSF 资助的研究项目和 3 个其他研究基金会- 资助了 16 个用户组的研究项目（28 个项目、9 个主要用户和 7 个次要用户）。这些项目 包括癌症研究、离子通道调节、神经发育和 神经基因组学、疼痛管理的神经生物学、社会行为和心理健康、神经系统疾病、 喂养和体重控制、神经炎症、分娩和微生物对大脑发育的影响、尿酸盐 新陈代谢、代谢综合征、炎症性肠病、脂肪吞噬、认知和能量稳态， 等。所提出的高端、完全集成的交钥匙共焦系统具有改进的分辨率、增强的 所有用户都认为灵敏度和更高的成像速度是成像核心的理想系统 满足关键需求的设施。新的共聚焦系统将由联邦资助的团体使用 在共享的基础上进行生物医学研究，以最大限度地支持 NIH 资助的基础、 转化、生物医学和神经行为研究。将所提出的共焦系统纳入 成像核心设施将提高成本效益，确保平稳安全运行，鼓励 独立研究人员、研究小组、院系/研究所和学院级之间的平衡共享 和大学级研究中心，并促进多学科合作。成像核心设施有 两个使用针孔的老化激光扫描共焦系统，Zeiss LSM 700（10 年）和 LSM 780（6 年） 旧）。它们被不同的生物医学研究人员广泛用于细胞和组织成像 样本涵盖 GSU 和附近机构的多个主要部门/研究所。年度服务 蔡司将在不久的将来终止这两个系统的协议，并且更换零件 不会得到保证。系统的任何意外故障都会对系统造成巨大的破坏 NIH 在时间和研究经费方面正在进行的资助研究项目。此外，收购这样的 高端共焦系统将提供独特的工具来扩展其执行高速成像的能力 大大降低了细胞和组织切片样品成像的光毒性并提高了分辨率和灵敏度。 这将是对该设施的一个重要补充，以保证对各种 NIH 资助的项目的持续支持。它将 还帮助研究人员超越当前的限制推进和加速他们的研究项目。 该设施拥有专用空间和关键人员，以支持采购和日常运营 拟议的共聚焦系统以及具有强大机构支持的可行且可持续的财务计划 确保所提出的共焦系统的长期运行和维护，以最大限度地支持 以及对当前和未来 NIH 资助的具有尖端成像能力的研究项目的影响。

Project Summary/Abstract This application is to seek funds to purchase a Zeiss LSM 980 confocal with Airyscan 2 to be housed in a university-wide Imaging Core Facility in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University (GSU) to support 22 NIH-funded research projects, 3 NSF funded research projects, and 3 other research foundation- funded research projects for 16 user groups (28 projects, 9 Major Users and 7 Minor Users). These projects include ongoing investigations in the field of cancer research, ion channel modulation, neural development and neurogenomics, neurobiology of pain management, social behavior and mental health, neurological disorders, feeding and body weight control, neuroinflammation, parturition and microbes on brain development, urate metabolism, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, lipophagy, cognition and energy homeostasis, etc. The proposed high-end, fully integrated turnkey confocal system with improved resolution, enhanced sensitivity, and increased imaging speed is identified by all the users to be an ideal system for the Imaging Core Facility to meet critical needs. The new confocal system will be used by federally funded groups conducting biomedical research on a shared-use basis to maximize the supports to the NIH-funded projects in basic, translational, biomedical, and neurobehavioral research. The incorporation of the proposed confocal system into the Imaging Core Facility will promote cost-effectiveness, ensure a smooth and safe operation, encourage balanced sharing among independent researchers, research groups, departments/institutes, and College-level & University-level research centers, and boost multidisciplinary collaborations. The Imaging Core Facility has two aging laser scanning confocal systems using pinholes, Zeiss LSM 700 (10+ year old) and LSM 780 (6+ year old). They are being heavily used by a diverse group of biomedical investigators for imaging cell and tissue samples span multiple major departments/institutes at GSU and nearby institutions. The annual service agreements for both systems are going to be discontinued by Zeiss in the near future and replacement parts are not going to be guaranteed. Any unexpected breakdown of the systems will cause tremendous disruptions to the ongoing NIH-funded research projects in terms of time and research funds. Besides, the acquisition of such a high-end confocal system will provide a unique tool to extend their ability to perform high-speed imaging with greatly reduced phototoxicity and improved resolution and sensitivity for imaging cell and tissue section samples. It will be a great addition to the facility to guarantee the continued support to varied NIH-funded projects. It will also help the investigators to advance and accelerate their research projects beyond their current limitations. The facility has dedicated space and critical personnel in place to support the acquisition and daily operation of the proposed confocal system as well as a viable and sustainable financial plan with strong institutional support to ensure the long-term operation and maintenance of the proposed confocal system to maximize the support and impact to current and future NIH-funded research projects with cutting-edge imaging capabilities.