Title: Acquisition of a Leica Microdissection System for the University of Miami Project Abstract/Summary The purpose of this shared S10 instrumentation grant application is the purchase of a laser microdissection microscope (LMD7 from Leica) for the University of Miami (UM) to support the NIH funded research of 7 Major Users, as well as 12 Minor User groups representing 5 Centers and 8 Departments at the University of Miami (UM). Currently, there are no available laser microdissection systems at UM or other research facilities in South Florida that can be used to develop these NIH-funded projects. The user groups have identified a strong need for isolation of cell populations and specific tissue regions in the brain, pancreas and tumor sections for further downstream processing that requires the precise sample collection allowed by the LMD7. This capability is essential for several UM-based NIH-funded investigators to perform, accelerate and expand their research programs.
Laser Microdissection (LMD) Microscopy is a powerful technique to isolate subsets of cells from tissue sections or cultured cells. At the University of Miami, several NIH projects require or would greatly benefit from using LMD. However, there is no operational LMD system available in a 100 miles radius. Therefore, this application requests funds to purchase the LMD7 from Leica. It will have 7 Major users from different departments and will be available for minor users and the scientific community in the area.
