This multi-user biology equipment proposal requests funds to purchase a cryostat that will be used in a variety of research projects in the Psychology Department at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. The user group consists of four faculty with active research programs who are members of the Experimental and Biological Psychology Program (Gallagher, Lysle, Dykstra) and the Developmental Psychology Program (Gariepy). In addition, three of the users are members of the Neurobiology Curriculum faculty (Gallagher, Lysle, and Dykstra). The proposed cryostat will replace an American Optical cryostat purchased in 1984 at a cost of $5,016, which can no longer be serviced/maintained. The refrigeration unit of the existing cryostat contains CFCs that do not meet current standards. Parts for this machine also can no longer be replaced. The new equipment will provide facilities for the continued conduct of research projects for which the existing cryostat has been used. In addition, the new cryostat will have the precision needed for a number of projects for which the existing cryostat has been inadequate. For example, when uniform section thickness is crucial for quantitative work (e.g. using iodinated ligands) the investigators have had to arrange for time on a cryostat in the medical school. The purchase of a new cryostat with high precision for tissue sectioning will allow all research to be conducted within our multi-user facility. The proposed purchase is for a Leica 3000 cryostat with dual compressor and motorized handwheel ($28,625) and height adjustment module (additional $2,360). Thirty percent of the total cost will be provided from equipment funds in the Psychology Department (see attached letter in appendix from the Psychology Department Chair). As described in the detailed Description of Research, the applications for which a cryostat is needed range from standard histological methods to molecular neurobiological research. These latter inclu de studies using quantitative methods for in vitro autoradiography, mapping of labelled oligonucleotides administered in vivo and in situ hybridization histochemisty. In addition to serving the needs of the faculty within the user group, the equipment will also be extensively used in research training at undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels.
