A state-of-the-art, multipurpose JEOL Model JEM-1200EX transmission electron microscope (hereafter referred to as the JEOL-1200EX) is requested for shared use by a vision research group with active, ongoing research programs of multi- and interdisciplinary content. The new instrument will be capable of operationin a high-resolution transmission mode, easily used for efficiently obtaining large numbers of in-focus micrographs, have a goniometer for stereoscopy and an automatic montage generator, and will have available optional attachments or modifications for future modernization. The instrument will also be used in conjunction with our NEI-funded vision research training program, with use of the new EM by trainees conducting research related to the specific aims of one or more of their preceptor(s)' funded research projects. The JEOL1200EX will substantially benefit present and future activities by providing instrument features that are currently unavalable, or to which our availability is highly limited. The studies of the major users are clearly interrelated with distinct areas of overlap and represent multi-interdisciplinary approaches to studies in vision research and neurobiology. The instrument will not only contribute to these correlative studies of the eye and visual centrers of the brain, but will provide a facility for collaborators and other potential users in these areas, expanding the overall research capabilities of the vision research community at the Universtiy of Washington.
