A grant has been awarded to Dr. Vincent P. Markowski at the University of Southern Maine to equip a shared microscopy center. A critical element in developing a strong program of research and research training at publicly funded universities involves the acquisition of modern equipment available to faculty and their research trainees. The purchase of a confocal laser scanning microscope and a Fluorescence Research photomicroscope will greatly enhance the fluorescence microscopy capabilities of current University of Southern Maine faculty and will also serve the needs of new faculty being recruited into the recently formed multidisciplinary Bioscience Research Institute of Southern Maine. The confocal laser scanning microscope with its coherent light sources and the capability of rejecting out-of-focus interference will permit investigators to obtain clear images of optical sections and will permit three dimensional image analysis of specimens that would be impossible to effectively examine using conventional epifluorescence microscopy. Advanced capabilities such as time-lapse observation of fluorescent events will also significantly extend currently available imaging resources. The versatile fluorescence system will complement the confocal system. Acquisition of this instrumentation will allow the laboratory of Dr. Vincent Markowski to identify immunohistochemical effects from the crop fungicide vinclozolin. The laboratory of Dr. Michael Godard will use the instrumentation to examine the contractile mechanics of skeletal single muscle fiber samples. The laboratory of Dr. S. Monroe Dubois will use the instrumentation to gain new insights into the biology of gamma-herpesvirus persistence. High resolution optical sectioning of tissues will allow studies aimed at cellular localization and molecular interactions of viral gene products, temporal and cell type specificity of viral gene expression, and cellular signaling in virus infected cells. The laboratory of Dr. Stephen Pelsue will use the instrumentation to study the cellular localization and molecular interactions of a transcription factor. Analysis of translocation and activation of other transcription factors as well as B lymphocyte apoptosis will also be examined with confocal microscopy. A significant goal of the University of Southern Maine is to become one of the top-ranked, regional comprehensive universities in the nation by 2010. In this endeavor USM is working to significantly expand academic programs in science and technology. In keeping with these two institutional goals, faculty are committed to prepare the next generation of American scientists in a modern scientific setting and to stress to our students, through active research, the importance of scientific inquiry. The acquisition of the desired instrumentation will substantially increase research productivity, research training and the success of external research support and funding. Furthermore, through the use of the proposed instrumentation, students who receive research training under the supervision of a particular Bioscience faculty member will have the opportunity to collaborate with undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from other departments, thus extending the breadth of student research training and promoting the concept of interdisciplinary research in the next generation of scientists.
