Optical Imaging and Fluorescence Microscopy Enhancement

明尼苏达州立大学Moorhead（MSUM）的Ellen Escherich博士获得了一笔赠款，用于升级我们目前的奥林巴斯IX-70明场/相差显微镜，以增强我们的显微镜能力。 这笔赠款提供的资金将使我们能够将细胞注射，图像捕获，图像分析和高质量的数字准备能力纳入我们的教学和研究。 该设备将由主要研究者Ellen Proch博士和三名共同主要研究者Chris Chastain博士、Joseph Provost博士和Mark Wallert博士共享。 该补助金将资助的设备和仪器包括：细胞注射系统，额外的免疫荧光过滤器立方体和高质量的100倍物镜，一个软件包，这将使我们能够检测和量化pH值的细微变化，隔离台和电动阶段，最先进的Macintosh计算机用于图像分析和图形准备，以及显微镜培训讲习班。所有四名研究人员都从事本科教学和培训。 我们目前的目标是通过在最先进的设备上对本科生进行培训，为他们提供最先进的教育，并将我们的研究项目提升到更高的水平。 研究人员领导的研究项目各不相同。 Dr. Eduich的研究项目主要集中在细胞分裂过程中，一个关键的细胞器--线粒体的复制和分离是如何协调的。 Dr. Eduich计划通过染色线粒体并用荧光显微镜观察来检查一组酵母细胞周期突变体（不能正确完成细胞分裂周期的酵母细胞）。 Chastain博士的研究项目侧重于了解C4光合途径中的酶活性。 Chastain博士计划通过免疫定位研究来检查C4光合酶在C3植物中的分布。 沃勒特和教务长在他们的研究工作显着合作。 他们的研究项目集中在促有丝分裂信号通路如何改变细胞内pH值。他们计划通过显微注射各种旨在改变特定细胞信号通路的干扰剂来进行细胞注射实验。 他们计划通过观察免疫荧光水平来定量干扰显微注射后pH值是否发生细微变化。 MSUM是一所致力于为本科生提供高质量研究机会的区域性综合性大学。 本申请中提出的设备和培训包将用于加强Drs. Proch、Chastain、Provost和Wallert的研究计划。 它将为学生提供先进的培训水平。 这些项目每年将涉及25-30名学生。 这些学生将在地方，区域和国家会议上介绍他们的工作，并在评论期刊上发表他们的结果。 参与这些项目的学生中近70%是女性，我们的历史表明，其中约80%将继续在研究生院或专业学校接受教育。 此外，更多的学生将接触到这种最先进的设备，因为它也将用于我们的一些高年级课程。 让学生参与研究，并在我们的教学实验室中纳入基于研究的练习，不仅提高了学生的教育，而且提高了我们大学的有效性和成功。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Ellen Brisch at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) to build on our microscopy capabilities by upgrading our current Olympus IX-70 brightfield/phase contrast microscope. The funding provided by this grant will allow us to incorporate cell injection, image capture, image analysis and high quality figure preparation capabilities into our teaching and research. This equipment will be shared between the PI; Dr. Ellen Brisch, and three Co-PIs; Dr. Chris Chastain, Dr. Joseph Provost and Dr. Mark Wallert. The equipment and instrumentation this grant will fund includes: a cell injection system, additional immunofluorescent filter cubes and high quality 100x objectives, a software package which will enable us to detect and quantify subtle changes in pH, an isolation table and motorized stage, state of the art Macintosh computers for image analysis and figure preparation, and microscopy training workshops. All four investigators are engaged in undergraduate teaching and training. Our current goals are to provide a state of the art education to our undergraduates by training them on state of the art equipment and also to bring our research programs to a higher level. The research programs led by the investigators vary. Dr. Brisch's research program focuses on how the replication and segregation of a critical cellular organelle, the mitochondrion, is coordinated during cell division. Dr. Brisch plans to examine a collection of yeast cell cycle mutants--yeast cells that fail to complete the cell division cycle correctly--by staining mitochondria and observing them with fluorescence microscopy. Dr. Chastain's research program focuses on understanding enzyme activity in the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Dr. Chastain plans to examine the distribution of a C4 photosynthetic enzyme in a C3 plant by employing immunolocalization studies. Drs. Wallert and Provost collaborate significantly in their research efforts. Their research program focuses on how mitogenic signaling pathways alter intracellular pH. They plan to perform cell injection experiments by microinjecting a variety of interfering agents designed to alter specific cell signaling pathways. They plan to quantitate the presence or absence of subtle pH changes after interfering microinjections by observing levels of immunofluorescence. Sophisticated software designed for calcium ratioing will be used for their data acquisition and analysis.MSUM is a regional comprehensive university that is committed to providing high quality research opportunities for undergraduates. The equipment and training package proposed in this application will be used to enhance the research programs of Drs. Brisch, Chastain, Provost and Wallert. It will provide their students with an advanced level of training. These projects will involve 25-30 students per year. These students will present their work at local, regional and national meetings and publish their results in review journals. Nearly 70% of the students involved in these projects will be women, and our history suggests that approximately 80% of them will continue their education in graduate or professional schools. In addition, an even greater number of students would have exposure to this state of the art equipment, as it would also be used in a number of our upper division courses. Involving students in research and incorporating research-based exercises in our teaching laboratories enhances not only the student's education, but also the effectiveness and success of our university.