Acquisition of a Nikon A1R-A1 confocal combined with TIRF

描述(由申请人提供)：此申请申请资金用于购买新的尼康共焦显微镜，供塔夫茨大学医学院(TUSM)的神经科学家和其他人使用。塔夫茨现有的徕卡TCS SP2共焦显微镜使用频繁，已有8年历史，经常需要维修和/或维护。这台新仪器将被添加到塔夫茨神经科学研究中心(CNR)现有的神经科学显微镜设施中，该中心已经满足了50多家塔夫茨实验室的成像需求。通过NINDS资助的CNR，已经建立了行政结构和技术专长，以监督、维护和确保公平分享新工具(见CNR主任F·罗布·杰克逊博士的附函)。这种新的显微镜将极大地扩展NIH资助的塔夫茨大学科学家的共焦成像能力。此外，它还将提供一种新的能力-全内反射荧光(TIRF)显微镜-这是几个研究人员所需要的。塔夫茨大学及其附属医院的14个学术和临床科设有40多个神经科学研究实验室，其中超过一半的实验室使用中国北车核心设施。在过去五年中在岩心开展的工作已经导致塔夫茨大学科学家发表了数百篇初级出版物。塔夫茨大学的科学家进行的研究对理解包括神经障碍在内的广泛的人类疾病具有重要意义。神经科学是医学院战略计划的主要主题(见执行摘要：www.tufts.edu/med/About/Strategy icplan/)。塔夫茨神经科学部最近招聘了一位新的主席，菲利普·G·海登博士，我们的神经科学界目前正在经历一次重大的扩张(见附上的菲利普·海登博士的支持信)。我们预计，这样的增长既会加强我们的社区，也会增加对最先进的核心设施的需求。认识到塔夫茨CNR核心的重要作用，该大学提供了重要的机构支持，以帮助建立和维护这些核心--总计约120万美元的资金和翻新空间(在机构支助一节中介绍)。这所医学院和大学最近还承诺提供20万美元的持续支持，以帮助资助中国北车的一个试点拨款计划，该计划旨在促进共享核心设施的使用(见院长迈克尔·罗森布拉特和副教务长佩吉·纽威尔的附函)。这个应用程序申请购买尼康共焦显微镜的设备资金。这种设备的资金不能通过我们的NINDS中心拨款获得，因为这是每年50万美元的上限，而且几乎所有的赠款资金都需要支付服务合同以及核心经理和行政人员的工资。鉴于塔夫茨大学正在进行的神经科学扩展，这次升级尤为重要。CNR CORE提供的负担得起的研究服务将大大增加向新聘用的塔夫茨神经学家提供的创业套餐，并加快他们融入当地神经科学界的速度。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application requests funds for the purchase of a new Nikon confocal microscope for use by neuroscientists and others at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). An existing Leica TCS SP2 confocal microscope at Tufts is heavily used, eight years old, and frequently in need of repairs and/or maintenance. The new instrument will be added to an existing neuroscience microscopy facility within the Tufts Center for Neuroscience Research (CNR), which has served the imaging needs of more than 50 Tufts laboratories. Through the NINDS-funded CNR, an administrative structure and technical expertise are already in place to supervise, maintain and ensure equitable sharing of the new instrument (see appended letter from CNR Director, Dr. F. Rob Jackson). The new microscope will greatly expand confocal imaging capability for NIH- funded Tufts scientists. In addition, it will also provide a new capability - Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy - which is required by several investigators. There are more than 40 neuroscience research laboratories in 14 academic and clinical departments of Tufts University and the affiliated hospitals, and more than half of these laboratories use CNR core facilities. Work carried out in the cores during the last five years has resulted in hundreds of primary publications from Tufts scientists. Research performed by Tufts scientists has significance for understanding a broad spectrum of human diseases including neurological disorders. Neuroscience is a dominant theme of the medical school strategic plan (see executive summary at: ://www.tufts.edu/med/about/strategicplan/). The Tufts Department of Neuroscience recently recruited a new chair, Dr. Philip G. Haydon, and our neuroscience community is currently undergoing a major expansion (see appended letter of support from Dr. Philip Haydon). We anticipate that such growth will both enhance our community and increase the demand for state-of-the-art core facilities. Recognizing the essential role of CNR cores at Tufts, the University has provided significant institutional support to help establish and maintain them - amounting to approximately $1.2 M in funds and renovated space (described in Institutional Support section). The medical school and university also recently promised $200,000 in ongoing support to help fund a CNR pilot grant program which promotes use of shared core facilities (see appended letters from Dean Michael Rosenblatt and Vice Provost Peggy Newell). This application requests equipment funds to purchase a Nikon confocal microscope. Funds for this equipment are not available through our NINDS center grant as that is capped at $0.5M per year and almost all grant funds are required to pay service contracts and core manager and administrative salaries. Given the ongoing neuroscience expansion at Tufts, this upgrade is particularly important. The affordable research services provided by CNR cores will greatly augment the start-up packages provided to newly-hired Tufts neuroscientists and speed their integration into the local neuroscience community.