MRI: Acquisition of microscopy equipment to enhance histological research in Forensic Anthropology, Biology, and Bioarchaeology

在主要研究仪器的支持下，Sophia Mavroudas和她的合作者将购买一套集成的显微镜成像和数据分析套件，该套件由徕卡DM6M复合显微镜和徕卡M205C立体镜组成，两者都有内部摄像头，连接到中央工作站和相关的徕卡Aperio ScanScope CS2滑动扫描仪。这将加强德克萨斯州立大学在法医人类学、生物学和生物考古学方面的研究和推广项目。这个显微镜成像套件是一个用户友好的系统，将影响从本科生到博士后水平的大量学生和研究人员，他们是德克萨斯州立大学法医人类学中心（FACTS）的一部分，是一个西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）。作为FACTS的一项资产，该设备将促进协同合作研究和互动教学。显微镜套件的增加将提升新的应用人类学博士课程，并加强教师和学生在法医人类学，生物学和考古学方面的联邦资助研究。相关活动包括在组织学和表面成像方面对妇女和代表性不足的群体进行科学培训，本科STEM培训，研究生研究和专业化，以及扩大FACTS讲习班以包括组织学和表面成像。显微镜套件将允许在一个工作站快速成像各种样品从1 -1000倍，其中包括DM6M复合显微镜，M205C立体显微镜，和Aperio ScopScan cs2。这将用于从骨骼创伤、动物考古样本和人工制品组合中捕获证据。结合现有的FACTS资源，该设备将支持创新的实验研究，包括受控的人体分解实验，该实验可以模拟人类骨骼在死后的微观成岩作用，以及秃鹫食腐造成的宏观创伤研究。相关的带有成像软件的立体镜也将允许对骨骼创伤和病理进行新颖和详细的3D建模，这些建模来自文献收集，以及法医案例和生物考古样本。该设备的收购将有助于建立并使研究人员能够从迅速扩大的德克萨斯州立大学捐赠骨骼收藏（TXSTDSC）中获得有史以来第一个人类组织学变异参考目录。显微镜系统将使FACTS能够建立在现有的研究计划的基础上，这些研究计划侧重于各种情况下的骨组织学，包括人类与非人类骨分化的调查、组织学哺乳动物物种鉴定、人类衰老、牙齿组织学死亡季节估计、病理和压力的牙科组织学研究、应用GIS技术研究骨组织形态学和组织学人类变异。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With Major Research Instrumentation support, Sophia Mavroudas and her collaborators will purchase an integrated microscopy imaging and data analysis suite that consists of a Leica DM6M compound microscope and Leica M205C Stereoscope, both with internal cameras that are connected to a central workstation with an associated Leica Aperio ScanScope CS2 slide scanner. This will enhance Texas State University's research and outreach programs in forensic anthropology, biology, and bioarchaeology. This microscopy imaging suite is a user-friendly system that will impact the large group of students and researchers, from the undergraduate through to the postdoctoral level, who are part of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) at Texas State University, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). As an asset of FACTS, this equipment will foster synergistic collaborative research and interactive teaching. The addition of the microscopy suite will elevate the new PhD in Applied Anthropology Program and enhance faculty and student federally funded research in forensic anthropology, biology, and archaeology. The associated activities include the scientific training of women and underrepresented groups in histology and surface imaging, undergraduate STEM training, graduate student research and professionalization, and the expansion of FACTS workshops to include histology and surface imaging. The microscopy suite will allow for fast imaging of a variety of samples from 1x-1000x at one workstation which consists of the DM6M compound microscope, M205C stereosmicroscope, and Aperio ScopScan CS 2. This will be used to capture evidence from skeletal trauma, zooarchaeological samples, and artifact assemblages. Combined with existing FACTS resources, this equipment will support innovative experimental studies including controlled human decomposition experiments that can model the microscopic diagenesis of human bone throughout the post-mortem interval, as well as macroscopic trauma investigation from vulture scavenging. The associated stereoscope with imaging software will also allow for novel and detailed 3D modeling of skeletal trauma and pathology from documented collections as well as forensic casework and bioarchaeological samples. The acquisition of this equipment will help build and make available to researchers the first ever referential catalog of histological human variation from the rapidly expanding Texas State University Donated Skeletal Collection (TXSTDSC). The microscopy system will enable FACTS to build on existing research programs that focus on bone histology in various contexts including the investigation of human vs nonhuman bone differentiation, histological mammal species identification, human ageing, dental histology season-of-death estimation, dental histology studies of pathology and stress, the application of GIS technology to study bone histomorphology, and histological human variation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.