Replacement of Microscopy Core 10-years-old Zeiss LSM-510 with a new LSM-710

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Department of Cell & Developmental Biology of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine established a Microscopy Core facility in 2006. The mission of the Core is to train and assist biomedical scientists, both departmental and University-wide, in the application of microscopy to their research. The daily activity of the Core is overseen by Dr. Andrea Stout (Director) and Dr. Yuri Veklich (Manager). Users are charged a modest fee for the use of the instruments of the Core. In turn, the money generated is put back into the Core as equipment service contracts, supplies, or salary support for Drs. Stout and Veklich. The Core brought together several microscopes under one administrative roof, the center piece of which is a Zeiss LSM-510 laser scanning confocal microscope purchased in 1998 with a NIH SIG grant (PI: Dr. John Murray). This microscope has been a work-horse for more than 10 years, has contributed to the research of more than 30 NIH-funded laboratories, and has directly resulted in over 100 publications. Due to normal wear-and-tear during the past ten years, this microscope is no longer operating at optimal efficiency and some parts are no longer supported by the manufacturer. We now request funds to replace the LSM-510 with its current version LSM-710. The new microscope will ensure continued usage and productivity from the researchers, and thus maintain job security and microscopy-training mission of Drs. Stout and Veklich.