Acquisition of a Nikon A1R-A1 confocal combined with TIRF

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请申请资金用于购买新的尼康共聚焦显微镜，供塔夫茨大学医学院（TUSM）的神经科学家和其他人使用。塔夫茨大学现有的徕卡TCS SP2共聚焦显微镜被大量使用，已有8年历史，经常需要维修和/或维护。新仪器将被添加到塔夫茨神经科学研究中心（CNR）现有的神经科学显微镜设备中，该设备已服务于50多个塔夫茨实验室的成像需求。通过国家自然资源研究所资助的国家自然资源中心，已经建立了一个行政结构和技术专门知识，以监督、维护和确保公平分享新文书（见国家自然资源中心主任F. Rob Jackson博士所附的信）。新的显微镜将大大扩大共聚焦成像能力为美国国立卫生研究院资助的塔夫茨科学家。此外，它还将提供一种新的功能——全内反射荧光（TIRF）显微镜，这是一些研究人员所需要的。塔夫茨大学及其附属医院的14个学术和临床科室共有40多个神经科学研究实验室，其中一半以上的实验室使用CNR核心设备。在过去的五年里，塔夫茨大学的科学家们在这些核心中进行的工作已经发表了数百篇主要论文。塔夫茨大学的科学家们所进行的研究对于理解包括神经系统疾病在内的广泛的人类疾病具有重要意义。神经科学是医学院战略计划的主要主题（见执行摘要：：//www.tufts.edu/med/about/strategicplan/）。塔夫茨大学神经科学系最近聘请了一位新主任，Philip G. Haydon博士，我们的神经科学界目前正在经历一次重大的扩张（见附件中Philip G. Haydon博士的支持信）。我们预计，这样的增长既会增强我们的社区，也会增加对最先进核心设施的需求。认识到CNR核心在塔夫茨大学的重要作用，塔夫茨大学提供了重要的机构支持，以帮助建立和维护它们——总计约120万美元的资金和翻新空间（在机构支持部分描述）。医学院和大学最近还承诺提供20万美元的持续支持，以帮助资助CNR试点拨款项目，该项目旨在促进共享核心设施的使用（见附件中院长迈克尔·罗森布拉特和副教务长佩吉·纽维尔的来信）。此申请要求设备资金购买尼康共聚焦显微镜。这些设备的资金不能通过我们的NINDS中心赠款获得，因为每年的赠款上限为50万美元，几乎所有的赠款资金都需要支付服务合同和核心经理和行政人员的工资。考虑到塔夫茨大学正在进行的神经科学扩展，这次升级尤为重要。CNR核心提供的经济实惠的研究服务将大大增加为新聘用的塔夫茨神经科学家提供的启动包，并加速他们融入当地神经科学界。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application requests funds for the purchase of a new Nikon confocal microscope for use by neuroscientists and others at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). An existing Leica TCS SP2 confocal microscope at Tufts is heavily used, eight years old, and frequently in need of repairs and/or maintenance. The new instrument will be added to an existing neuroscience microscopy facility within the Tufts Center for Neuroscience Research (CNR), which has served the imaging needs of more than 50 Tufts laboratories. Through the NINDS-funded CNR, an administrative structure and technical expertise are already in place to supervise, maintain and ensure equitable sharing of the new instrument (see appended letter from CNR Director, Dr. F. Rob Jackson). The new microscope will greatly expand confocal imaging capability for NIH- funded Tufts scientists. In addition, it will also provide a new capability - Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy - which is required by several investigators. There are more than 40 neuroscience research laboratories in 14 academic and clinical departments of Tufts University and the affiliated hospitals, and more than half of these laboratories use CNR core facilities. Work carried out in the cores during the last five years has resulted in hundreds of primary publications from Tufts scientists. Research performed by Tufts scientists has significance for understanding a broad spectrum of human diseases including neurological disorders. Neuroscience is a dominant theme of the medical school strategic plan (see executive summary at: ://www.tufts.edu/med/about/strategicplan/). The Tufts Department of Neuroscience recently recruited a new chair, Dr. Philip G. Haydon, and our neuroscience community is currently undergoing a major expansion (see appended letter of support from Dr. Philip Haydon). We anticipate that such growth will both enhance our community and increase the demand for state-of-the-art core facilities. Recognizing the essential role of CNR cores at Tufts, the University has provided significant institutional support to help establish and maintain them - amounting to approximately $1.2 M in funds and renovated space (described in Institutional Support section). The medical school and university also recently promised $200,000 in ongoing support to help fund a CNR pilot grant program which promotes use of shared core facilities (see appended letters from Dean Michael Rosenblatt and Vice Provost Peggy Newell). This application requests equipment funds to purchase a Nikon confocal microscope. Funds for this equipment are not available through our NINDS center grant as that is capped at $0.5M per year and almost all grant funds are required to pay service contracts and core manager and administrative salaries. Given the ongoing neuroscience expansion at Tufts, this upgrade is particularly important. The affordable research services provided by CNR cores will greatly augment the start-up packages provided to newly-hired Tufts neuroscientists and speed their integration into the local neuroscience community.