An inverted Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) system is requested. There is no confocal system at the medical school nor, to the best of our knowledge, in the entire Atlanta University Center Complex ( includes the Atlanta University Center, Morehouse College, Selman College, Clark- Atlanta University, Morris Brown College). The requested instrumentation will greatly expand the research capabilities at the medical school and provide a resource for minority graduate and undergraduate schools in the complex. Within the medical school, the requested instrumentation will be used to support five major research projects headed by senior investigators plus occasional used by a number of other investigators. All laboratories in the proposal are presently, or have plans to be involved in the training of graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellows with an emphasis on the training of minorities. Several laboratories have also participated in summer programs to expose minority medical students to research. Area of research (major projects) the requested instrumentation will support include fluorescent immunolocalization/co- localization/ 3-D reconstruction of cytoskeletal and other cellular proteins in tissue sections and fixed cell layer (Chew, Lo, Bailey, Scanlon), detection and 3-D reconstruction of transcripts detected using fluorescent in situ hybridization technique (Bond), and fluorescent localization of intracellular calcium storage/release sites in living cells along with co-localization of relevant cellular structures (Scanlon, Chew. ). The 3D reconstruction capabilities of the system will provide investigators with insights into cell structure that cannot be obtained with conventional fluorescent microscopy.
