CAREER: Multimodal Nanoelectrochemistry to Characterize Nanometer and Microsecond Resolved Transmitter Release

神经递质作为神经和大脑交流的化学信使，参与许多行为和情绪反应，如学习、记忆和注意力。神经化学通讯的异常与神经系统的紊乱和疾病有关，包括吸毒成瘾、痴呆、糖尿病、癌症和衰老。伊利诺伊大学的沈梅博士创造了新的电化学方法和显微镜来检测、测量和可视化化学物质的存在，这些化学物质被用作神经递质（神经化学物质），目前无法通过其他方法进行研究。这些新颖的测量工具使神经细胞之间的化学通讯有了新的发现，这种通讯是由电信号和化学信号引起的。这些工具和技术有望提高人们对大脑功能的理解。沈教授的项目还通过一个名为NANO的教育项目促进幼儿教育，以及大学生和研究生的教与学。在这个项目中，对幼儿的教育努力有助于培养他们对科学的积极态度，并作为早期干预措施，减少幼儿园之前存在的科学成就差距。大学水平的教育活动为当地社区服务，提供解决社会保健挑战的基础知识，并为学生提供丰富的科学机会。凭借这一奖项，化学学部的化学测量和成像项目将资助伊利诺伊大学香槟分校的Mei Shen博士开发新的神经分析平台，以更好地了解大脑化学。到目前为止，在神经元交流的位置同时测量两组不同的单胺和胆碱能神经递质是很困难的。该研究项目旨在创建化学敏感、多模态、电化学平台，提供这两组神经递质的快速（微秒）、纳米分辨率测量。这个项目是跨学科的，影响了电化学、纳米科学、神经科学和脑化学等领域。在教育和推广方面，开发了“纳米电化学和神经科学推广（NANO）”教育项目，向公立学校从学龄前到12年级的儿童教授纳米科学和脑化学。长期教育目标包括帮助儿童通过早期的科学学习经验培养对科学的积极态度，解决最初在学龄前出现并随着儿童年龄增长而继续出现的科学成就差距。与伊利诺伊州儿童发展实验室（CDL）和公立学校的合作，为不同群体的儿童提供了教授大脑化学的机会。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。

Neurotransmitters, as the chemical messengers of nerve and brain communication, are involved in many behaviors and emotional responses, such as learning, memory, and attention. Abnormalities in neurochemical communication are implicated in disorders and diseases of the nervous system, which include drug addiction, dementia, diabetes, cancer, and aging. Dr. Mei Shen of the University of Illinois creates new electrochemical methods and microscopes to detect, measure, and visualize the presence of chemicals that are used as neurotransmitters (neurochemicals) that currently cannot be investigated by other methods. These novel measurement tools enable new discoveries in chemical communications between nerve cells, which result from electrical and chemical signals. The tools and techniques promise to provide an increased understanding of brain function. Professor Shen's program also promotes early-childhood education, and teaching and learning of both college and graduate students through an education project called NANO. Educational efforts with young children in the program help develop positive attitudes toward science and serve as an early intervention to reduce science achievement gaps that are present before kindergarten. The college-level educational activities serve local communities by generating fundamental knowledge to address societal health-care challenges and provide enriching opportunities for students in science. With this award, the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry is funding Dr. Mei Shen at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to develop new neuroanalysis platforms to enable better understanding of brain chemistry. Until now, it has been difficult to concurrently measure two different groups of monoamine and cholinergic neurotransmitters at the location where neurons communicate. This research program seeks to create chemically-sensitive, multimodal, electrochemical platforms that provide fast (microsecond), nanometer-resolution measurements of these two groups of neurotransmitters. This project is interdisciplinary, impacting the fields of electrochemistry, nanoscience, neuroscience, and brain chemistry. In education and outreach, "Nanoelectrochemistry And Neuroscience Outreach (NANO)" education projects are developed to teach nanoscience and brain chemistry to children from preschool age to grade 12 in public schools. The long term education goals include helping children develop positive attitudes toward science through science learning experiences in early childhood and addressing the science achievement gaps that are initially present during preschool and continue to occur as children age. Collaborations with the Child Development Laboratory of Illinois (CDL) and public schools provide opportunities for teaching brain chemistry to diverse groups of children.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.