MRI Acquisition: Development of a Multi-Institution Microscopy Core Facility at Loyola University Maryland: Acquisition of a Confocal Microscope

这笔资金将用于购买蔡司LSM 700激光扫描共聚焦显微镜，以增强15，000平方英尺的洛约拉显微镜核心设施（LMCF），并建立一个多机构研究和培训联盟。预计这将大大提高教师和学生奖学金的质量和数量在洛约拉和附近的三个机构（圣玛丽山？华盛顿大学、陶森大学和华盛顿学院）。来自马里兰州洛约拉大学的六名教师将使用共聚焦显微镜来扩展他们的研究计划，并增加本科生的研究机会。具体而言，该仪器将用于评估：人类和非人类灵长类动物颗粒细胞和黄体细胞的代谢，草药补充剂对细胞形式和功能的调节，乳腺癌细胞的耐药性机制，昆虫毒液诱导的细胞死亡，以及蛭弧菌捕食对细菌生物膜的破坏。此外，来自附近学院/大学的三名教师将使用LMCF来了解控制机制：血管平滑肌细胞的生长，镍和钴毒性以及人类疱疹病毒的感染。除了提高教师的产出，为学生提供这种类型的实践经验将使他们有机会了解当前的方法如何使研究人员能够解决复杂生物系统中的分子机制。共聚焦显微镜远远上级LMCF中已有的宽视场荧光显微镜。它将为研究人员提供机会，以确定细胞内分子的位置和/或共定位，以三维重建样品或标本，并随着时间的推移成像活细胞或组织的动态变化，所有这些都不会损害信号或样品的完整性。多机构显微镜设施的建立将使目前的研究得到加强和扩大，同时也为大学之间的合作提供了新的机会。在2-3年内，预计来自其他学校的教师和学生将加入该联盟，从而大大改变了巴尔的摩大都会地区主要本科院校的研究概况。除了增加和扩大教师的研究，因此，他们竞争校外研究/教育赠款的能力，随着联盟的发展，在参与学校的STEM计划将得到加强，并将为地区学生提供显微镜的高级培训，最终使他们在暑期职位，出版物，专业学校和生物科学职业生涯中更具竞争力。

The funds from this NSF MRI grant will be used to purchase a Zeiss LSM 700 laser scanning confocal microscope to enhance the 15,000 square-foot Loyola Microscopy Core Facility (LMCF) and to establish a multi-institution research and training consortium. It is anticipated that this will dramatically increase the quality and quantity of faculty and student scholarship at Loyola and at three nearby institutions (Mount St. Mary?s University, Towson University, and Washington College). Six faculty from Loyola University Maryland will be using the confocal microscope to expand their research programs and to augment undergraduate research opportunities. Specifically, the instrument will be used to assess: metabolism in human and non-human primate granulosa and luteal cells, modulation of cellular form and function by herbal supplements, the mechanism of drug resistance in breast cancer cells, venom-induced cell death in insects, and disruption of bacterial biofilms by Bdellovibrio predation. Moreover, three faculty from nearby colleges/universities will be using the LMCF to understand the mechanism(s) governing: growth of vascular smooth muscle cells, nickel and cobalt toxicity, and infection by human herpesviruses. In addition to improving faculty output, providing students with this type of hands-on experience will afford them the opportunity to understand how current approaches allow researchers to address molecular mechanisms in complex biological systems.Confocal microscopy is far superior to the widefield fluorescence microscopy already available in the LMCF. It will provide the opportunity for researchers to determine the location and/or colocalization of intracellular molecules, to reconstruct a sample or specimen in three dimensions, and to image dynamic changes in living cells or tissues over time, all without compromising the integrity of the signal or sample. The creation of a multi-institution microscopy facility will allow current studies to be enhanced and expanded while also providing new opportunities for collaboration between universities. Within 2-3 years, it is expected that faculty and students from additional schools will join the consortium, thereby dramatically altering the research profile of predominantly undergraduate institutions in the Baltimore Metro area. In addition to increasing and extending faculty research and, therefore, their ability to compete for extramural research/educational grants, as the consortium grows, the STEM initiatives in place at the participating schools will be intensified and will provide area students with advanced training in microscopy that will ultimately make them more competitive for summer positions, publications, professional school, and careers in the biological sciences.