Leica SP5 Confocal Microscope

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this proposal is to obtain funds for a Leica TCS SP5 MP Fixed stage (UV- VIS-IR) confocal microscope for the Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) light microscopy core facility. This instrument will be used to examine the gene expression and protein profiles of samples from cells to whole organisms in a controlled environment. We have a 10 year old instrument (Leica SP2) that is supported by manufacturer, but it cannot be upgraded and it has a limited lifetime. In addition, confocal technology has improved greatly since BCD purchased their older instrument. Research has been a major emphasis at BCD over the past 20 years. In part, this is because BCD is a stand-alone institution. The college is geographically separated from its affiliated medical school (Texas A & M College of Medicine, College Station, TX is about 200 miles from Dallas). BCD maintains a relatively large group of faculty and programs that are devoted teaching, biomedical education and research. There are 22 full time faculty, 15 postdoctoral fellows and 14 Ph.D. students in the Department of Biomedical Sciences working on different research projects. The projects that will be supported by this instrument will expand the basic understanding of how selected cell types change gene expression or protein functions within their normal environment. These projects will address developmental biology (Svoboda, Opperman, Ruest, Feng, Qin, D'Souza), neurobiology (Kramer, Benson), immunology and cell biology basic science questions (Svoboda, Sharma, Benson, Opperman, Feng, Qin) by highly qualified faculty and their students. The broader impact of adding this instrument to our core facilities is that graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty will have access to a state of the art instrument. It will be available to all research faculties and incorporated into graduate courses to promote basic science research in craniofacial biology. The addition of this core facility will also enhance future collaborations with faculty from other Dallas and health science center faculty and aid in future faculty and graduate student recruitment.