Micro-and Nano-space Explorations of Health and Disease

描述(申请人提供)：微米和纳米尺度上看不见的世界，无论是生物的还是非生物的，对健康和疾病都具有极其重要的意义，只有通过适当的显微镜工具才能看到细节。在这个项目中，南缅因州大学(USM)拥有电子显微镜、微生物学、病毒学和免疫学专业知识的教职员工与中小学教育和推广专家以及USM南沃斯天文馆的工作人员合作，向3-8年级的学生和K-12教师展示广阔但通常看不见的微空间/纳米空间世界，并最终将这些世界带给缅因州和全国的学生。从宏观和多感官观察开始，项目工作人员(在第一阶段)将使用USM显微镜资源将项目参与者的视觉感知提高五个数量级以上，其中包括PI指导的USM病毒学和TEM实验室具有先进断层成像功能的新Tecnai BioTwin全数字透射电子显微镜(TEM)。该项目的第一阶段(1至3年)将强调生物医学教职员工、K-12参与者和USM索斯沃斯天文馆工作人员在课程材料和制作视觉资源方面的合作，以进行深远的教育推广。该项目的第二阶段将侧重于传播该项目的课程和其他产品，同时扩大整个缅因州的外展努力，并将K-12教师的学年计划纳入应用医学科学系的学术课程。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The unseen world, both living and non-living, at the micro-scale and the nano-scale has inordinate importance for health and disease and is only made visible in detail through the appropriate tools of microscopy. In this project University of Southern Maine (USM) faculty and staff with expertise in electron microscopy, microbiology, virology, and immunology team up with elementary and middle school education and outreach specialists and the staff of USM's Southworth Planetarium to reveal vast but usually invisible micro-space/nano-space worlds to grades 3-8 students and K-12 teachers and ultimately to bring these worlds to students across Maine and the nation. Starting with macroscopic and multi-sensory observations, the project staff (during Phase I) will enhance visual perception of program participants by more than five orders of magnitude using USM microscopy resources including a new Tecnai BioTwin fully digital transmission electron microscope (TEM) with advanced tomography capabilities in the USM Virology and TEM Laboratory which the PI directs. Phase I of the project (years 1 to 3) will emphasize collaboration of biomedical sciences faculty and staff, K-12 participants, and the staff of USM's Southworth Planetarium on curriculum materials and production of visual resources for far-reaching educational outreach. Phase II of the project will focus on dissemination of curricula and other products of the project while expanding outreach efforts throughout Maine and integrating the academic year programs for K-12 teachers into the academic offerings of the Department of Applied Medical Sciences.