A grant has been awarded to Miami University to purchase a spectral imaging confocal microscope. Along with the existing system this microscope will be accessible through the University supported Electron Microscopy Facility. The PI (Joyce Fernandes), co-PIs (Richard Edelmann, Luis Actis, Quinn Li and Chris Makaroff) and faculty participants (Eileen Bridge, Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, Lori Isaacson, Kathleen Killian, John Kiss, Michael Robinson) have well-established research programs in Developmental Biology, Neurobiology, Cell Biology, Molecular Genetics, and Microbial Pathogenesis. This group of researchers represents four departments- Botany, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Zoology, and Microbiology and their common interest in confocal microscopy is especially useful as an example of how tools and techniques are used across disciplines to address basic biological problems. Current collaborations among the departments include an NSF funded program to foster research interests in under-represented student groups at the undergraduate level and an interdepartmental graduate program in Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology (CMSB).
The focus at Miami University is to provide a quality learning experience for undergraduates, a goal that is enhanced through an increasing emphasis on developing our graduate research programs. Acquisition of the new instrumentation will allow the University to become competitive in hiring new faculty and research personnel, as well as to enrich the integration of research and teaching activities, not only at the graduate and undergraduate levels, but also in our K-12 outreach. Thus, the educational mission of the University will be enhanced at multiple levels.
