This application requests funds for the purchase of a high-speed CSU-W1 SoRa spinning disk confocal microscope system that will support a large and diverse portfolio of NIH-funded research at the UCSF Parnassus Heights campus. The requested system includes four laser lines for common fluorophores, simultaneous dual- wavelengths image acquisition at up to 200 frames per second, a 130 m x 130 m field of view at 100x magnification, axial super-resolution to <150 nm, environmental control and dynamic photoactivation. This specific system was chosen to optimally address the needs of the diverse major user group with advanced imaging modalities that are not currently available at UCSF Parnassus Heights. Almost all of the thirteen major users who are supported by twenty-five current NIH grants had an opportunity to test the requested system during a 5-day demonstration and we were able to evaluate the performance of the CSU-W1 both qualitatively and quantitatively. No other instrument with similar capabilities currently exists on the market. The need and interest for this instrument is further highlighted by a total of twelve figures included in this application showing high-quality preliminary data obtained during this short demo period. The requested CSU-W1 SoRa microscope system will be placed under the administrative oversight of the Biological Imaging Development CoLab (BIDC) at UCSF Parnassus Heights. The BIDC has been successfully in operation for fifteen years, and administrative policies that are in place at the BIDC will ensure long-term maintenance and financial viability of the requested instrument while at the same time keeping costs for running experiments below typical recharge rates. In addition to UCSF?s general support for the BIDC and infrastructure, over $150,000 of institutional support specifically for the purchase, installation and maintenance of the requested instrument have been secured. The BIDC also has a high visibility at the UCSF Parnassus Heights campus, which will ensure broad access of the UCSF Parnassus Heights research community and optimal impact on NIH-funded research.
Quantitative microscopy is becoming more and more central to decrypting the inner workings of cells and tissues in both normal and diseased states. The high-speed, wide-field, super-resolution, optogenetics confocal microscope requested here adds advanced imaging modalities that are not currently available to the major user group and will support a diverse portfolio of NIH-funded research ranging from basic mechanistic cell biology to developmental dynamics as they relate to human health and disease.
