Automated multidimensional imaging system

在我们肉眼可见的世界之外，世界是美丽的，充满了秘密。有了显微镜，这个世界的一部分可以被解锁，这样生物学家就可以测量、操纵和惊叹于生命的基石。我们是五位比较生理学家，每天使用显微镜来了解组织和细胞与生理和有机体过程之间的结构-功能关系。这些联系对于建立动物如何通过表型可塑性和适应性应对环境压力的机制理解至关重要，这些主题是我们五个研究项目的核心。本方案是为了购买一台新的尼康Eclipse Ni-E复合荧光显微镜和先进的图像分析工作站，以取代我们实验室中两台过时和失效的显微镜和相关的分析软件。这种多功能显微镜和软件升级将推动我们的成像实验，使用强大的新处理和分析工具，由人工智能和机器学习驱动。我们将使用该系统获取高分辨率、多维度的组织图像，这将加速我们的研究：(1)定义调节应激诱导的神经发生变化的细胞途径及其扰动的有机后果；(2)确定内分泌因子如何控制和减轻环境应激源的不良影响；(3)细胞外基质在热适应过程中调节心功能的作用；(4)确定神经可塑性在动物表型与环境匹配中的作用；(5)将早期生活经历与野生动物的神经发育和行为联系起来。所要求的成像系统将补充现有的设备，并允许我们将详细的、定量的组织学分析与从分子到组织水平的端点结合起来。这种方法帮助我们建立对动物生理学的全面理解，并为训练和发现提供了丰富的环境。

The world beyond what is visible to our naked eye is beautiful and full of secrets. With microscopy, a part of that world can be unlocked so that biologists can measure, manipulate, and marvel at the building blocks of life. We are five comparative physiologists who use microscopy every day to understand the structure-function relationships that connect tissues and cells to physiological and organismal processes. Such connections are critical to building a mechanistic understanding of how animals cope with environmental stressors through phenotypic plasticity and adaptation, and these topics are at the core of our five research programs. This proposal is for a new Nikon Eclipse Ni-E compound fluorescent microscope and advanced image analysis workstation which is urgently needed to replace two obsolete and failing microscopes and associated analysis software in our labs. This versatile microscope and software upgrade will advance our imaging experiments using powerful new processing and analytical tools driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning. We will use this system to acquire high-resolution, multi-dimensional images of tissues that will accelerate our research towards: (1) defining the cellular pathways that regulate stress-induced changes to neurogenesis and the organismal consequences of their perturbation; (2) determining how endocrine factors control and mitigate adverse effects of environmental stressors; (3) characterizing the role of the extracellular matrix in regulating heart function during thermal acclimation; (4) identifying the role of neuroplasticity in matching animal phenotype with environment; and (5) connecting early-life experiences with neural development and behaviour in wild animals. The requested imaging system will complement existing equipment and allow us to integrate detailed, quantitative histological analyses with endpoints that span from molecular to organismal levels. This approach helps us build a comprehensive understanding of animal physiology and offers a rich environment for training and discovery.