This award is made to Montana State University to acquire a uniquely configured Multi-Modality Multi-Photon Digital Fluorescence Microscope. The Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, where the requested instrument will be located, was originally established in 1990 as an NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC), and it has a central mission to advance the frontiers of health, energy, industry, and the environment through biofilm research, education, and outreach. From inception, the Center for Biofilm Engineering has taken a transdisciplinary approach to fundamental and applied research that continues today and that embodies the Montana State University land-grant mission for the integration of learning and discovery. Such research empowers students to apply fundamental knowledge to real-world challenges. Currently, one of the biggest challenges for engineering-based biological applications is the ability to noninvasively visualize highly replicated live bio-systems in real-time.
To overcome challenges with conducting physiologically relevant research in natural and engineered systems, the Multi-Photon Digital Fluorescence Microscope will enable unprecedented image acquisition speeds, significantly reduce phototoxicity, provide high resolution label free identification of single cells, and increase penetration depths producing images more representative of intact biofilms. All of these advancements are integral to maintaining cell viability during imaging and will support research projects of faculty, staff, and students across three colleges (Engineering, Science, and Agriculture). The acquisition of this instrument will allow cutting-edge, real-time, high-sensitivity imaging of intact, complex biological samples and is, thus, ideally suited for biofilm systems.
This project is jointly funded by CBET-MRI Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Program.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
