Acquisition of a spinning disk confocal fluorescence microscope to promote interdisciplinary biomedical research and education

About This Grant

Project Summary/Abstract This proposal requests the acquisition of an ECHO spinning disk confocal high-resolution fluorescence microscope equipped with vibration isolation system, camera, computer, monitor and software for the Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern University (GS) to expand access to high-resolution fluorescence imaging in the new Center for Biomedical Research and Innovation (CBRI) on the Armstrong campus of GS. Access to a confocal microscope on the Armstrong campus will tremendously enhance the productivity of the current CBRI investigators, expand access to high-end research instrumentation for students conducting biomedical research for course credit and enhance the capacity of the CBRI to recruit highly talented researchers to the growing biomedical research enterprise at GS. The microscope will fall within the College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) Core Research Laboratory (CCRL), a collection of core services and high-end instrumentation that help maintain and manage shared instrumentation across the college. The CCRL model ensures continued support in terms of maintenance and daily operations and promoting the use of core services. Currently, the CCRL maintains a scanning confocal fluorescence microscope on the Statesboro campus of GS, a one-hour commute from the Armstrong campus. COSM investigators across both campuses use the confocal microscope for high- resolution imaging of neural tissues in zebrafish and rodent models, analysis of cancer drug efficacy in vitro and vivo and novel characterization of aquaporins in vertebrate animals. Additionally, a newly hired junior investigator on the Armstrong campus will require a confocal microscope for high-resolution imaging of synapses in a lamprey model for Parkinson’s disease, and searches for three biomedical researchers for the CBRI are ongoing. Local access to a high-speed, high-resolution confocal fluorescence microscope on the home campus (Armstrong) of the CBRI in Savannah will provide critical capacity for biomedical research for current and newly recruited CBRI faculty investigators, of which three are funded by the NIH. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to improve the support infrastructure for both current users and newly hired junior investigators recruited to enhance the scholarly output and grant acquisitions of the CBRI. In total, four major users and the undergraduate and graduate students engaged in biomedical research on the Armstrong campus will be directly affected by this expansion of high-resolution imaging capabilities. The major users’ research areas are of high relevance to public health including the impacts of nanoplastics on neurological functions (focus area of the PI), the impacts of environmental exposures on neurodevelopmental changes associated with autism spectrum disorder, the role of alpha-synuclein in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, and protein-protein interactions in the context of developing novel therapeutics for cancer. Expansion of the CCRL on the Armstrong campus is in line with the current growth in the biomedical space at GS including the opening of a medical school (with Medical College of Georgia), the BS in Biomedical Sciences in Fall 2025 and a planned PhD. in Biomedical Sciences.