MRI: Acquisition of a Fast-scanning Confocal Microscope to Advance Biophysics, Neuroscience and Bioengineering Research and Training

MRI：购买快速扫描共焦显微镜以推进生物物理学、神经科学和生物工程研究和培训

• 批准号: 1625770
• 负责人: Megan Valentine
• 金额: $ 58.68万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-15 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1625770&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Fast; scanning; Confocal

An award is made to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) to acquire a high-resolution, fast, laser-scanning confocal microscope. This award will allow critical problems in biophysics, neuroscience, and bioengineering to be addressed, while substantially increasing the research and training capacity of the campus. In particular, this new instrumentation will provide scientists at UCSB with unprecedented abilities to measure the dynamic motions of microscale structures in biological and bioinspired materials. Undergraduate and graduate students will gain expertise in cutting edge technologies, imparting new scientific knowledge, developing new materials, and understanding human health. A partnership with the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation (MOXI) will bring the discoveries enabled by this award to the public.The fast-scanning, high-resolution confocal microscope with spectral detection capabilities (Leica TCS SP8x) will substantially modernize the Neuroscience Research Institute (NRI)/Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology Microscopy Facility. The new instrument will transform the institutional research capabilities for collecting quantitative, high spatial and temporal resolution images in order to carry out NSF-funded research addressing diverse and critical research questions in developmental biology, quantitative biophysics, bio-inspired materials research, and neuroscience. These include investigations of: (1) intra- and inter-cellular interactions and the dynamics of morphogenesis and tissue remodeling; (2) human brain development using stem cell-derived cerebral organoids; (3)"smart" materials in which the mechanical properties can be dynamically controlled through responsive molecular architecture; (4) the dynamics of surface diffusion, convection and adhesion; and, (5) the molecular and biophysical mechanisms driving tunable iridescence. In addition to the immediate gains in speed and sensitivity, this project will provide for minor modifications to customize the new microscope and make it compatible with a wide range of customized biophysical tools, including a miniaturized surface forces apparatus (SFA), high-force magnetic tweezers devices, and a scanning probe microscopy system that combines imaging and multielectrode array technologies to map and manipulate neural tissues in culture. Additionally, the proposed instrumentation will be used in a variety of classroom, training, and outreach activities that will significantly enhance the education and mentorship of graduate and undergraduate students, and will bring diverse cohorts of students and experts to UCSB to perform research. A new partnership between the UCSB NRI and the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation (MOXI) will engage the public in active learning about optics, light and imaging, while sharing the important discoveries and applications of the research enabled by this award. These activities will substantially expand the impact of this project beyond our campus, and will further strengthen UCSB's position as a leading institute in quantitative biology, neuroscience, biomaterials and bioengineering research and education.

加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校 (UCSB) 获得了获得高分辨率、快速激光扫描共焦显微镜的奖励。该奖项将使生物物理学、神经科学和生物工程的关键问题得到解决，同时大幅提高校园的研究和培训能力。特别是，这种新仪器将为加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的科学家提供前所未有的能力来测量生物和仿生材料中微观结构的动态运动。本科生和研究生将获得尖端技术、传授新科学知识、开发新材料和了解人类健康方面的专业知识。与沃尔夫探索与创新博物馆 (MOXI) 的合作将向公众展示该奖项带来的发现。具有光谱检测功能的快速扫描、高分辨率共聚焦显微镜 (Leica TCS SP8x) 将极大地实现神经科学研究的现代化研究所 (NRI)/分子细胞和发育生物学显微镜设施。新仪器将改变收集定量、高空间和时间分辨率图像的机构研究能力，以便开展 NSF 资助的研究，解决发育生物学、定量生物物理学、仿生材料研究和神经科学领域的各种关键研究问题。这些包括以下方面的研究：（1）细胞内和细胞间的相互作用以及形态发生和组织重塑的动力学； (2) 利用干细胞来源的大脑类器官进行人脑发育； （3）“智能”材料，其中机械性能可以通过响应分子结构动态控制； (4) 表面扩散、对流和粘附的动力学； (5)驱动可调虹彩的分子和生物物理机制。 除了速度和灵敏度方面的直接收益外，该项目还将提供细微的修改来定制新的显微镜，并使其与各种定制的生物物理工具兼容，包括小型化表面力装置（SFA）、高力磁力装置镊子设备和扫描探针显微镜系统结合了成像和多电极阵列技术来绘制和操纵培养物中的神经组织。此外，拟议的仪器将用于各种课堂、培训和外展活动，这将显着加强研究生和本科生的教育和指导，并将吸引不同的学生和专家群体到加州大学圣巴巴拉分校进行研究。 UCSB NRI 和沃尔夫探索与创新博物馆 (MOXI) 之间的新合作伙伴关系将让公众积极学习光学、光和成像，同时分享该奖项所带来的重要研究发现和应用。这些活动将大大扩大该项目在校园之外的影响，并将进一步巩固 UCSB 作为定量生物学、神经科学、生物材料和生物工程研究和教育领域领先机构的地位。