MRI-R2: Acquisition of an epifluorescence microscope for research and training at Gettysburg College

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。葛底斯堡学院获得了美国国家科学基金会MRI-R2项目的支持，以支持收购尼康Eclipse 90i显微镜以及数字成像和软件技术。这台显微镜将为六名教员提供新的研究计划，并扩大和改善葛底斯堡学院的本科培训环境。Eclipse 90i显微镜将允许我们的教师和他们的本科生合作者立即追求各种新的研究计划，目前是不可能的。Kittelberger博士和他的学生研究硬骨鱼声音交流中涉及的神经回路的结构和功能，重点研究神经调节剂塑造声音行为的神经生理机制。Frey博士和她的学生目前使用脂质单层来研究导致细胞膜脂筏形成的分子之间的物理和化学相互作用，有序的微结构域被认为在膜运输和信号转导中起作用。James博士和他的学生们将利用真核真菌假丝曲霉（Aspergillus nidulans）模型，研究细胞周期控制、DNA损伤反应和减数分裂重组方面的最新见解：(1)在减数分裂中起重要作用的一种新型真菌DNA连接酶；(2) s期DNA损伤反应的组成部分Rif1抑制dbf4依赖性激酶（DDK）的活性，从而触发DNA合成和减数分裂重组的新调控机制；(3)与milsaps学院的SL McGuire博士合作，研究了典型细胞周期调节因子cdc2-cyclinB激酶与mRNA输出机制的组成部分Hrb1之间的不可预料的相互作用。西维博士和他的学生研究社会变量如何调节幼鼠的恐惧和焦虑。结合对恐惧和焦虑行为指数的研究，获得这台显微镜将使他们能够量化暴露于幼年大鼠大脑中先天恐惧刺激后神经激活的变化，并确定早期社会经历如何调节这种激活。布兰道尔博士研究骨骼肌释放一种叫做肌因子的信号蛋白的潜力，鲍威尔博士研究秀丽隐杆线虫先天免疫反应的信号通路。葛底斯堡学院是一所文科院校，提供四年制学士学位课程，本科生总数约2500人。通过课程作业和独立研究，生物学、化学、生物化学和分子生物学（BMB）以及神经科学课程为学生在这些学科的继续工作做好准备。通过密切的师生合作和提供优秀的研究机会，葛底斯堡学院有效地培养我们的理科生成为下一代科学家中的领导者；(2)吸引更多的本科生，包括女性和未被充分代表的少数民族，进入科学领域。收购Eclipse 90i显微镜通过让学生接触到新的科学探究领域，并通过提供最新技术和仪器的复杂，基于发现的培训，对这些目标做出了至关重要的贡献。新显微镜的研究结果将发表在同行评议的期刊上，并由学生和教师在地区和国家会议上发表。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Gettysburg College has received support from the NSF MRI-R2 program to support the acquisition of a Nikon Eclipse 90i microscope plus digital imaging and software technology. This microscope will enable new research initiatives for six faculty, and broaden and enhance the undergraduate training environment at Gettysburg College. The Eclipse 90i microscope will allow our faculty and their undergraduate collaborators to immediately pursue a variety of new research initiatives that are currently not possible. Dr. Kittelberger and his students study the structure and function of neural circuits involved in vocal communication in teleost fish, focusing on neurophysiological mechanisms by which neuromodulators shape vocal behavior. Dr. Frey and her students currently use lipid monolayers to study the physical and chemical interactions between molecules that lead to the formation of cell membrane lipid rafts, ordered microdomains thought to play a role in membrane transport and signal transduction. Dr. James and his students will pursue recent insights into cell cycle control, DNA damage responses, and meiotic recombination, using the model eukaryotic fungus Aspergillus nidulans, as follows: (1) a novel fungal DNA ligase that plays an essential role in meiosis; (2) novel regulatory mechanisms by which Rif1, a component of an S-phase DNA damage response, appears to inhibit the activity of Dbf4-dependent kinase (DDK) to trigger DNA synthesis and meiotic recombination; and (3) in collaboration with Dr. SL McGuire (Millsaps College), an unsuspected interaction between the canonical cell cycle regulator, cdc2-cyclinB kinase, and a component of the mRNA export machinery, Hrb1. Dr. Siviy and his students study how social variables modulate fear and anxiety in young rats. In conjunction with studies on behavioral indices of fear and anxiety, acquisition of this microscope will allow them to quantify changes in neural activation following exposure to an innate fear stimulus in the brain of young rats and to determine how early social experiences can modulate this activation. Dr. Brandauer studies the potential of skeletal muscle to release signaling proteins called myokines and Dr. Powell studies signaling pathways of the innate immune response in C. elegans. Gettysburg College is liberal arts institution offering 4-year bachelor degree programs, with a total enrollment of ~2500 undergraduates. Through coursework and independent research, the biology, chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB), and neuroscience curricula prepare students for continued work in these disciplines. Through close faculty-student collaboration and by offering outstanding research opportunities, Gettysburg College effectively prepares our science students to become leaders among the next generation of scientists; and (2) attracts greater numbers of undergraduates, including women and underrepresented minorities, to the sciences. Acquisition of the Eclipse 90i microscope contributes vitally to these objectives by exposing students to new areas of scientific inquiry and by providing sophisticated, discovery-based training with the latest technology and instrumentation. Results from the studies enabled by the new microscope will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented by students and faculty at regional and national meetings.