Genetic manipulation in the mouse, using gene targeting and transgene insertions, is now a prevalent method for studying developmental processes and for modeling human diseases. While techniques to alter the genetic makeup of the mouse continue to be refined and used more widely, our ability to rapidly and effectively analyze mutant mouse phenotypes has become the limiting step in many investigations. The Mouse Imaging Facility at NYU School of Medicine employs both ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) micro-imaging approaches to analyze anatomical, functional and molecular changes in a wide variety of mouse models, from early embryonic to adult stages of development. There is a long history of support for the Mouse Imaging Facility at NYU School of Medicine, under the joint sponsorship of the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine and the NYU Cancer Institute. In this application, we request funds to cover the costs of purchasing a new state-of-the-art MR console, bringing our 7-Tesla MR Micro-imaging system up to current standards, and allowing us to continue to support a broad set of NIH-funded projects requiring mouse MRI. This upgrade is well justified, since the console and ancillary equipment are over seven years old, and most of the subsystems are obsolete and difficult or impossible to repair/replace. The research projects currently utilizing MR micro-imaging include analysis of developmental and functional abnormalities in mice with defects in heart and brain development, detection of Multiple Sclerosis lesions in a transgenic mouse model, analysis of tumor progression in mouse models using perfusion MRI and MR spectroscopy, and the development and application of MR contrast reagents targeted to amyloid for plaque detection and monitoring in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's Disease. The upgrade of the MR micro-imaging console in the Mouse Imaging Facility will ensure that these innovative and critical applications of mouse MRI will continue to be available to this strong group of NIH-funded investigators.
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