Acquisition of a Multichannel Confocal Microscope for Biological Research

该奖金将用于购买一台蔡司LSM 510型激光扫描共聚焦显微镜，用于犹他大学生物系的研究。生物系的研究项目需要蔡司LSM 510共聚焦显微镜的特性或功能，包括：能够同时收集多个荧光通道和透射光；提高灵敏度;由1024 × 1024像素阵列提供的宽视场图像的增强分辨率；以及扫描感兴趣的特定区域的能力。共聚焦显微镜将完全配备最新的功能，包括：氩离子和He/Ne激光器用于多波长激发；三种荧光通道同时成像探测器；透射光探测器；微分干涉光学；以及从连续光学切片进行三维重建的软件。共聚焦显微镜也将配置为未来增加一个脉冲红外激光器，用于活细胞和/或生物体的多光子显微镜。蔡司共聚焦显微镜将成为犹他大学生物系生物成像设施的一部分，取代老化的Biorad MRC-600共聚焦显微镜。生物成像设备是犹他大学生物系和其他院系成员使用的核心设备。作为核心成像设备的一部分，该仪器将对40多名个人研究人员的研究项目产生巨大影响，其中包括来自生物系至少16个不同实验室的教师、博士后、研究生、本科生和技术人员。这些研究人员将使用共聚焦显微镜来研究各种生物，包括植物（拟南芥）、真菌（酵母）、藻类（褐藻）、无脊椎动物（线虫、果蝇、蚱蜢和飞蛾）和脊椎动物（两栖动物、电鱼、鸟类）等主要分类群。四个主要用户将在他们的研究中使用该仪器：(1)细胞骨架在青蛙卵发生和早期发育中的组织、调节和作用；(2)细胞骨架和细胞壁在褐藻早期发育过程中的作用；(3)秀丽隐杆线虫和蚱蜢的神经发生和连通性；(4)果蝇突触形成和功能的遗传学。该仪器还将提供给理学院、工程学院和医学院的其他研究人员，使其成为全校范围内的基础研究资源。除了它的研究任务，蔡司共聚焦显微镜将对各级教育和研究培训产生重大影响。预计将有30多名博士后、研究生和本科生接受仪器操作和研究方面的培训。生物成像中心主任还将为研究生和本科生开设一门关于现代成像技术（包括共聚焦显微镜）在生物研究中的理论和应用的课程。最后，共聚焦显微镜的演示及其在生物研究中的应用将在面向中小学生、教师和家长的推广项目中展出。总之，该仪器将为犹他大学生物系的基础研究和教育提供实质性的好处。

Award Abstract 9977204This award will be used to purchase a Zeiss model LSM 510 Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope for research in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah. Research programs in the Biology Department require features or capabilities available on the Zeiss LSM 510 confocal microscope, including: the ability to collect multiple fluorescence channels and transmitted light simultaneously; enhanced sensitivity; enhanced resolution of wide-field images provided by the 1024 x 1024 pixel array; and the ability to scan selected regions of interest. The confocal microscope will be fully equipped with up-to-date features, including: argon ion and He/Ne lasers for multi-wavelength excitation; detectors for simultaneous imaging of three fluorescence channels; transmitted light detector; differential interference optics; and software for 3-D reconstruction from serial optical sections. The confocal microscope will also be configured for future addition of a pulsed infrared laser for multi-photon microscopy of living cells and/or organisms. The Zeiss confocal microscope will become part of the Biological Imaging Facility in the Biology Department at the University of Utah, replacing an aging Biorad MRC-600 confocal microscope. The Biological Imaging Facility is a core facility used by members of the Biology Department and other departments at the University of Utah. As part of the core imaging facility, the instrument will have a dramatic impact on the research programs of more than forty individual investigators, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students, and technical personnel from at least sixteen different laboratories in the Biology Department. These investigators will use the confocal microscope to study a variety of organisms encompassing major taxa of plants (Arabidopsis), fungi (yeast), algae (brown algae), invertebrates (nematode worms, fruit flies, grasshoppers, and moths), and vertebrates (amphibians, electric fish, birds). Four major users will employ the instrument in their investigations of: (1) the organization, regulation, and role of the cytoskeleton during oogenesis and early development in frogs; (2) the role of the cytoskeleton and cell wall during early development of brown algae; (3) neurogenesis and connectivity in C. elegans (worms) and grasshoppers; and (4) the genetics of synapse formation and function in Drosophila (fruit flies). The instrument will also be available to other investigators in the Colleges of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, making it a University-wide resource for basic research. In addition to its research mission, the Zeiss confocal microscope will have a major impact on education and research training at all levels. More than thirty postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students are expected to be trained in the operation of the instrument and use it in conducting their research. The Director of the Biological Imaging Facility will also teach a course on the theory and application of modern imaging techniques, including confocal microscopy, in biological research to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. Finally, demonstrations of the confocal microscope and its application in biological research will be featured in outreach programs directed at elementary and secondary school students, teachers, and parents. In summary, the instrument will provide substantial benefits to basic research and education in the Biology Department at the University of Utah.