This proposal requests funds for a confocal imaging system in order to support and enhance the work of NIH funded investigators at Marquette University studying a variety of dynamic cellular systems. These investigators are currently working within two separate departments (Biomedical Sciences and Biology), and seek to bring the powerful capacity of confocal imaging to biological questions of spinal cord network organization and physiology, the neuroprotective effects of neurotrophins on cortical degeneration, and the functional neuroanatomy of neural pathways which regulate the neuroendocrine stress axis. Additional users are currently studying biological aspects of oocyte maturation and spinal cord regeneration following injury. At present there exists no confocal imaging system at Marquette University, with four users currently conducting confocal imaging studies offsite. The acquisition of this system would enable Marquette investigators to bring many advantages of confocal microscopy to bear on scientific questions, including: a) non-invasive optical sectioning of intact cultures with increased resolution, b) elimination of blur at high magnification in dual-fluorescence neuroanatomical connectional studies, and c) determination of the distribution of labeled markers within cells or tissues by quantitative volumetric imaging and reconstruction of serial sets of optical sections. These capacities will enhance and expand the current and future research efforts of these investigators, as well as provide a powerful new tool to the greater Marquette scientific community for future research endeavors. The possibility of a laser scanning confocal imaging system at Marquette University would be met with great enthusiasm and is timely in view of the current expansion of the scientific departments most involved. Acquisition of the instrument would also serve a significant training purpose for Marquette graduate students and post-doctoral research fellows.
