The Cell Imaging, Analysis, &Microinjection Core (CIAMC) comprises valuable, modern tools that are made available as routine services to Program Project members. The services provided have been crucial for individual laboratory projects, and intra-programmatic research. The CIAMC was established in the original application to meet the growing needs of the investigators in this area. The CIAMC has evolved to now take advantage of microscopy resources in the Moores UCSD Digital Imaging Shared Resource (DISR). We propose in this application to fund a part-time research assistant to provide dedicated support to PPG members by 1) providing standardized training in the use of these 3-D fluorescence.microscopes and the somatic cell microinjection system, 2) training individuals within this PPG to take full advantage of the enhanced scientific visualization software available in our group, and 3) providing hands-on help with the use of these microscopes. A unique feature of our facility is its partnership with computer scientists at the VisLab in the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC). They have created new tools for enhanced 3-D visualization of cells, web-based data processing, and have made use of the virtually unlimited computational power of the SDSC to facilitate storage and analysis of very large data sets (http://vis.sdsc.edu/research/cancer.html). With increasing frequency, current PPG investigators are making use of these enhanced features, and the proposed CIAMC will facilitate the ability of PPG members to access these services in a timely manner.
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