A grant has been awarded to the College of the Holy Cross under the direction of Dr. Mary Lee Ledbetter for partial support of acquisition of a spectral confocal microscope for research and training in biology. Such instruments are increasingly used to analyze in fine detail the distribution of fluorescent molecules in very specific regions of cells. Together with specific fluorescently labeled probe molecules, the instrument will be used by members of the Biology Department in their research and teaching. Undergraduate students will also be able to use it, and that training will constitute a vital part of their research experience. The addition of confocal microscopy will significantly enhance the research and training infrastructure in microscopy.
Each member of the team will integrate the confocal microscope into his or her research program. Various projects include studies of interactions between proteins found in the membranes bounding mammalian cells, mechanisms by which frogs regulate their circadian (day/night) cycles, studies of the production and proper localization within mammalian cells of proteins that ultimately form communicating channels (gap junctions) in membranes where a cell touches its neighbors, studies of the influences that control the shapes of surface structures in insect larvae, and detailed morphological analysis of developmental processes in beetles. Each faculty member will involve undergraduate students pursuing independent research projects. These projects often result in presentations at national meetings and co-authored publications in peer reviewed journals. Thus the educational benefit to the student far transcends technical proficiency, extending to full participation in the planning and execution of experiments, and dissemination of the results of their investigations.
The project offers an unparalleled opportunity for the team to advance research at the cutting edge of biology while contributing to the direct education of research students. In addition the microscope will be used as the centerpiece of educational outreach to both Holy Cross students and the wider community. Demonstrations and short-term projects will be possible for students in several intermediate courses in biology. Non-majors fulfilling their general education requirements will have a chance to see this state-of-the-art instrument in action. Faculty and their students from one of the eight other colleges and universities in the Worcester Consortium have been invited to use the instrument to enhance their research and training activities. And we plan to invite students from local public high schools to come to campus several times a year for a program, "Imaging Life," that will include demonstration of the confocal microscope. These broader efforts will help to attract and retain students in the study of the life sciences and offer the local community a stake in the scientific enterprise.
