MBF Bioscience and Zeiss Microscope System for Stereology and Tissue Morphology

描述（由申请人提供）：申请资金用于购买MBF生物科学显微镜系统用于立体学和组织形态学，包括蔡司Axio成像仪Z1显微镜，带有电动XYZ工作台。这种强大的混合技术将显微镜，图像分析和立体组织形态测量学结合在一个平台上。收购这种复杂而多功能的仪器将为广泛的研究人员提供新的组织成像和分析技术，这些研究人员的需求已经超出了我们现有仪器的能力。这个合作研究小组包括来自弗吉尼亚大学医学院的三个部门和一个医学中心以及另外两个部门的研究人员。该仪器将被安置在医学系肾内科和免疫、炎症和再生医学中心（CIIR）内新装修的集中共享设施中。一个由5名资深教师组成的咨询委员会，由首席研究员（Dr. Mark Okusa，肾脏病学主任和CIIR主任）担任主席，将监督仪器的使用和维护，并确保仪器充分发挥其功能。用户将在基于网络的日历上预订仪器时间。UVA的另外两个MBF生物科学系统，要么位于单独的实验室，要么位于与我们提议的类似的共享设施中，由于使用频繁，其他用户无法使用。一位在使用该设备方面具有丰富经验（15年）的教员和CIIR成员（Diane Rosin博士）将担任技术总监，培训新用户，维护拟议的设施，并促进与MBF生物科学公司高度可访问的支持团队的沟通。20年来，MBF在全球范围内提供了出色的支持，提供了及时和响应性的故障排除，并为用户提供了正在进行的改进分析技术开发（通常是用户生成的）的热心资源。本提案中的5个NIH资助的主要用户和6个次要用户具有NIH资助的强大历史，并且从购买该仪器的科学影响中获得未来收益的潜力很大。对于最先进的成像和立体分析技术，仅在所要求的仪器中发现的特定功能对于用户描述的各种项目至关重要。该仪器非常适合多用户设置，因为通过不同的软件模块集成的电动显微镜平台提供了广泛的数据捕获和分析方法（例如，2D或3D分析和重建），数据可以在工作站在线获取或从广泛的其他图像应用程序（MRI， EM，共聚焦，超声）中导入，并且用户可以存储个性化设置。由于该仪器在基础、转化和临床研究项目中的巨大潜力，该仪器将加强的研究将提高我们对生物医学科学中各种领域的理解，包括急性和慢性肾脏疾病、自身免疫性疾病、炎症和免疫、纤维增生性疾病、心血管和肺部疾病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested to purchase a MBF Bioscience Microscope System for Stereology and Tissue Morphology, including a Zeiss Axio Imager Z1 Microscope with motorized XYZ stage. This powerful hybrid technology combines microscopy, image analysis and stereological tissue morphometrics in one platform. Acquisition of this sophisticated and versatile instrument will provide a new range of tissue imaging and analysis technology to a broad group of investigators whose needs have outgrown the capabilities of our existing instrumentation. This collaborative research group includes investigators in 3 divisions and one Center of the Dept. of Medicine and 2 additional departments of the Univ. of Virginia School of Medicine. The instrument will be housed in a newly renovated centralized shared facility within the Nephrology Division and the Center for Immunity, Inflammation and Regenerative Medicine (CIIR) in the Dept. of Medicine. An advisory committee of 5 senior faculty chaired by the principle investigator (Dr. Mark Okusa, Chief of Nephrology and Director of the CIIR) will oversee the use and maintenance of the instrument and ensure that it is used to its full capacity. Users will reserve instrument time on a Web-based calendar. Two other MBF Bioscience Systems at UVA, located either within individual labs or in shared facilities similar to the one we propose, are unavailable to additional users owing to their heavy usage. A faculty member and member of the CIIR (Dr. Diane Rosin) with extensive experience (15 yrs) in the use of this equipment will serve as Technical Director, train new users, maintain the proposed facility, and facilitate communication with the highly accessible support team at MBF Bioscience. MBF has provided outstanding support worldwide for 20 years by offering timely and responsive trouble-shooting and serving as an enthusiast resource of ongoing development (often user- generated) of modified analysis techniques for its users. The 5 NIH-funded Major Users and 6 Minor Users in this proposal have a strong history of NIH funding and a high potential for future benefit from the scientific impact of the acquisition of this instrument. For state-of-the-art advanced imaging and stereological analysis technology, the specific features found only in the requested instrument are vital for the diverse array of projects described by the Users. The instrument is highly suited to a multi-user setting because integration of the motorized microscope stage by different software modules provides a wide array of data capture and analysis methods (for example, 2D or 3D analysis and reconstruction), data can either be acquired online at the workstation or imported from a wide array of other image applications (MRI, EM, confocal, ultrasound), and users can store personalized settings. With the vast potential of this instrument for use in basic, translation and clinical research projects, the studies that will be enhanced by this instrument will improve our understanding of a wide variety of areas in biomedical sciences, including acute and chronic kidney diseases, autoimmune diseases, inflammation and immunity, fibroproliferative diseases, and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.