Axio Zoom Imaging System for 2D and 3D Analysis of Large Tissue Samples

圭尔夫大学的神经科学研究小组(NRG)是一个多学院研究计划，旨在促进促进神经科学基础的研究。申请者的研究范围从神经发育和突触可塑性到神经生理学和神经退行性变。对NRG的投资和对所要求的Axio Zoom系统的支持将通过促进Guelph大学在分子神经科学和成像方面的基础专业知识来推进这些研究优先事项。此外，这项投资将促进神经科学和细胞生物学领域的学术卓越、合作和具有国际竞争力的研究，重点是脑回路成像。在完整(三维)神经系统的背景下，能够精确定位神经结构的成像技术处于神经生物学的前沿。这些技术的范围从完整大脑内复杂神经元回路的可视化到整个模型生物体的神经系统成像。通过这种方法获得的信息增加了我们对神经元连接的基础知识，并进一步加深了我们对驱动突触可塑性的机制的理解。获得最先进的高分辨率显微镜对完整的大脑电路进行三维成像对于保持神经科学研究的前沿并继续在圭尔夫大学发展NRG至关重要。本申请要求的设备包括完整的Axio Zoom.V16系统，包括用于光学切片的Apotome2、电动工作台、基于LED的荧光和用于对澄清的组织和整个模型生物成像的高灵敏度相机。没有其他显微镜能够同时提供整个器官和单个细胞的分辨率，并增加了光学切片的功能。这些组成部分对于推进申请者的研究项目至关重要。该显微镜将被安置在圭尔夫大学的分子和细胞成像设备(MCIF)中，并将进行专业维护，并以付费使用的方式向圭尔夫大学的研究人员和更广泛的科学界完全开放。MCIF将在五年内投资3万美元用于与该系统相关的服务和维护，并由收取的使用费抵消。除了将从申请人的实验室培训的40名HQP外，MCIF还将有200多名年度用户将从该系统中受益。

The Neuroscience Research Group (NRG) at the University of Guelph is a multi-college research initiative that aims to promote research that advances the foundations of neuroscience. The applicants’ research ranges from neurodevelopment and synaptic plasticity to neurophysiology and neurodegeneration. Investment into the NRG and support for the requested Axio Zoom System will advance these research priorities by promoting a fundamental expertise in molecular neuroscience and imaging at the University of Guelph. Furthermore, this investment will foster academic excellence, collaboration and internationally competitive research in the areas of neuroscience and cell biology, with an emphasis on imaging brain circuity. Imaging techniques that can precisely localize neural structures, in context of the intact (3-dimensional) nervous system, lie at the leading edge of neurobiology. These range from the visualization of complex neuronal circuits within the intact brain to imaging the nervous system of whole model organisms. The information gained by such approaches increases our fundamental knowledge of neuronal connectivity and furthers our understanding of the mechanisms that drive synaptic plasticity. Having access to state-of-the-art, high-resolution microscopy for 3-dimensional imaging of intact brain circuits is critical to remain at the forefront of neuroscience research and to continue to grow the NRG at the University of Guelph. The equipment requested in this application consists of a complete Axio Zoom.V16 System including the Apotome.2 for optical sectioning, a motorized stage, LED-based fluorescence and a high-sensitivity camera for imaging of clarified tissue and whole model organisms. No other microscope offers simultaneous whole organ and single cell resolution with the added functionality of optical sectioning. These components are essential to advance the applicants’ research projects. This microscope will be housed in the Molecular and Cellular Imaging Facility (MCIF) at the University of Guelph and will be professionally maintained and fully accessible to University of Guelph researchers and the broader scientific community on a pay-for-use basis. The MCIF will invest $30K over five years for service and maintenance related to the system, offset by the user fees collected. In addition to the >40 HQP that will be trained from the applicants’ labs, the MCIF has over 200 annual users that will benefit from this system.