A grant has been awarded to Dr. Ellen Brisch at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) to build on our microscopy capabilities by upgrading our current Olympus IX-70 brightfield/phase contrast microscope. The funding provided by this grant will allow us to incorporate cell injection, image capture, image analysis and high quality figure preparation capabilities into our teaching and research. This equipment will be shared between the PI; Dr. Ellen Brisch, and three Co-PIs; Dr. Chris Chastain, Dr. Joseph Provost and Dr. Mark Wallert. The equipment and instrumentation this grant will fund includes: a cell injection system, additional immunofluorescent filter cubes and high quality 100x objectives, a software package which will enable us to detect and quantify subtle changes in pH, an isolation table and motorized stage, state of the art Macintosh computers for image analysis and figure preparation, and microscopy training workshops. All four investigators are engaged in undergraduate teaching and training. Our current goals are to provide a state of the art education to our undergraduates by training them on state of the art equipment and also to bring our research programs to a higher level. The research programs led by the investigators vary. Dr. Brisch's research program focuses on how the replication and segregation of a critical cellular organelle, the mitochondrion, is coordinated during cell division. Dr. Brisch plans to examine a collection of yeast cell cycle mutants--yeast cells that fail to complete the cell division cycle correctly--by staining mitochondria and observing them with fluorescence microscopy. Dr. Chastain's research program focuses on understanding enzyme activity in the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Dr. Chastain plans to examine the distribution of a C4 photosynthetic enzyme in a C3 plant by employing immunolocalization studies. Drs. Wallert and Provost collaborate significantly in their research efforts. Their research program focuses on how mitogenic signaling pathways alter intracellular pH. They plan to perform cell injection experiments by microinjecting a variety of interfering agents designed to alter specific cell signaling pathways. They plan to quantitate the presence or absence of subtle pH changes after interfering microinjections by observing levels of immunofluorescence. Sophisticated software designed for calcium ratioing will be used for their data acquisition and analysis. MSUM is a regional comprehensive university that is committed to providing high quality research opportunities for undergraduates. The equipment and training package proposed in this application will be used to enhance the research programs of Drs. Brisch, Chastain, Provost and Wallert. It will provide their students with an advanced level of training. These projects will involve 25-30 students per year. These students will present their work at local, regional and national meetings and publish their results in review journals. Nearly 70% of the students involved in these projects will be women, and our history suggests that approximately 80% of them will continue their education in graduate or professional schools. In addition, an even greater number of students would have exposure to this state of the art equipment, as it would also be used in a number of our upper division courses. Involving students in research and incorporating research-based exercises in our teaching laboratories enhances not only the student's education, but also the effectiveness and success of our university.
