Zeiss LSM 980 with Airyscan 2 for Imaging Core Facility

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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.