Award Abstract #0320606
MRI/RUI: Acquisition of a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope

NSF Org:	DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure
Initial Amendment Date:	July 21, 2003
Latest Amendment Date:	July 21, 2003
Award Number:	0320606
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Helen G. Hansma DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	July 1, 2003
Expires:	June 30, 2006 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$325059
Investigator(s):	John Henson henson@dickinson.edu (Principal Investigator) Teresa Barber (Co-Principal Investigator) Anthony Pires (Co-Principal Investigator) Kirsten Guss (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Dickinson College P.O. Box 1773 Carlisle, PA 17013 717/243-5121
NSF Program(s):	MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	BIOT, 9184, 9141
Program Element Code(s):	1189

ABSTRACT

A grant has been awarded to Dickinson College under the direction of Dr.

John Henson to support the acquisition of a laser scanning confocal light

microscope. The ongoing renaissance in the use of light microscopy for

research and education in cell biology, neurobiology and developmental

biology has been fueled by the capabilities of confocal microscopy

systems. They have become the instrument of choice due to their ability

to "optically section" cells and tissues and therefore allow for the 3D

spatial resolution needed to define structural relationships, along with the

temporal resolution needed to follow dynamic processes. Dickinson

College, an undergraduate institution with an excellent record of

student/faculty research and an innovative science education program,

will use this confocal microscope to support student/faculty research,

undergraduate education, and community outreach.

The confocal microscopy system will be equipped with a microinjection

set up and will support a wide variety of student/faculty research projects.

The mechanism of cell motility and division will be addressed in

experiments using sea urchin adult cells and embryos. How the liver

transports toxic waste will be the focus of studies using cultures of skate

liver cells. The turning on and off of specific genes during embryonic

development will be worked on using fruit fly embryos. The neural control

of metamorphosis in molluscan embryos and the localization of memory

mechanisms in the brains of conditioned day old chicks will be subject of

other studies involving the use of this instrument. Undergraduate

research students will be integral participants in all of these projects,

contributing to experimental design, execution and analysis as well as the

presentation of results at meetings and the publication of the results in

scientific journals. In terms of impact on undergraduate education, the

instrument will be incorporated into the teaching of courses in cell biology,

developmental biology, neurobiology, molecular genetics and

biopsychology.

The presence of a confocal microscope at Dickinson will have a number

of significant and pervasive broader impacts. Importantly this instrument

will serve as one of the underpinnings for a new interdisciplinary major in

Neuroscience at Dickinson that will involve coursework selected from the

offerings of the Biology and Psychology programs. In terms of service to

underrepresented student groups, women undergraduate students

currently make up roughly 75% of the Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular

Biology and Psychology majors. We also envision making this instrument

available to faculty and students at Gettysburg and Franklin and Marshall

Colleges, the two other member colleges of the Central Pennsylvania

Consortium, as well as using both the Pennsylvania Academy of

Sciences and the American Society for Cell Biology meetings as fora for

discussing applications of confocal microscopy in a small college setting.

Furthermore, we plan to write up research-oriented teaching labs that

utilize the confocal for publication in the new on line journal Cell Biology

Education. In terms of community outreach, the confocal microscope will

be used in a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-funded program in which

local high school teachers attend summer workshops in cell and

molecular biology at Dickinson. The instrument will be used by teachers

during these workshops and made available for use by visiting high

school student groups during the academic year.

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