JEM-123O Electron Microscope

描述(由申请人提供)： 我们正在申请资金购买一台电子显微镜，以取代我们目前使用了17年的越来越不可靠的电子显微镜。拟议中的显微镜将由11名用户使用，主要来自约翰·霍普金斯大学医学院的耳鼻喉科-头颈外科和眼科。共有13个项目将得到8 RO1，2 KO8，1 K23和几个非联邦拨款的支持。购买这种显微镜对于NIH项目支持的研究的持续进展至关重要。这些项目的广度很广，但统一于结构神经生物学的基础。项目包括：(A)研究哺乳动物听觉系统的突触组织和可塑性；(B)人眼的组织病理学研究；(C)正常、病理和/或转基因动物眼睛和耳朵感觉受体及相关结构的超微结构检查；(D)眼睛和耳朵中与正常功能有关的分子(细胞骨架和突触蛋白、生长因子或离子通道)的定位；(E)确定促进光感受器生长的生长因子；(F)涉及影响喉神经生长、神经再支配和肌肉发育的因素的基因转移实验。不同研究小组采用的概念和技术方法强调将这些不同项目联系起来的共同主题。我们的工作高度依赖于电子显微镜，拟议的购买将为其用户提供一种可靠的仪器，该仪器配备了许多目前在我们机构的任何地方都无法获得的先进功能。授予这项文书将对这些项目的生产力产生直接和积极的影响。它将促进用户之间的跨学科讨论，为我们的学员提供一个有价值的教学工具，并促进听觉、视觉和声音方面的生物医学研究的进展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We are requesting funds to purchase an electron microscope to replace our current 17-year-old one that has become increasingly unreliable. The proposed microscope will be used by a group of 11 users primarily from the Departments of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. A total of 13 projects will be supported by 8 RO1, 2 KO8, 1 K23, and several nonfederal grants. The purchase of this microscope is crucial for the continued progress of research supported by NIH programs. The breadth of the projects is broad but unified by a foundation in structural neurobiology. Projects include (a) studies of the synaptic organization and plasticity of the mammalian auditory system; (b) histopathologic studies of the human eye; (c) ultrastructural examinations of sensory receptors and associated structures of the eyes and ears in normal, pathologic, and/or genetically altered animals; (d) localization of molecules (cytoskeletal and synaptic proteins, growth factors, or ion channels) in eyes and ears that pertain to normal function; (e) identification of growth factors that enhance photoreceptor growth; and (f) gene transfer experiments involving factors that influence laryngeal nerve growth, reinnervation, and muscle development. Conceptual and technical approaches utilized by the different research groups emphasize the common themes that link these various projects. Our work is highly dependent upon electron microscopy, and the proposed purchase will provide its users with a reliable instrument that is equipped with a number of advanced features that are currently unavailable anywhere at our institution. Award of this instrument will have an immediate and positive effect on the productivity of these projects. It will serve to catalyze interdisciplinary discussions among users, provide a valuable teaching tool for our trainees, and enhance the progress of biomedical research on hearing, vision, and voice.