This proposal requests funds for a Biological Facilities Center for Research and Development of Electro-Optical Microscopic Imaging Instrumentation. The objective is to provide for the systematic invention and development of electro-optical microscopic imaging quantitation technologies and to facilitate the application of these new physical instrumentation capabilities through collaborative research in molecular cell biology. The molecular dynamics of vital processes in living cells can be revealed and measured with the help of appropriate electro-optical microscopic image acquisition, photon counting quantitation of weak molecular fluorescence, and computerized 3D digital image processing and storage with spatial and temporal transform analysis. Collaborative interdisciplinary research on cellular biophysical processes is to be accommodated in the facilities both to provide for cell biology research and to focus the instrumentation developments on practicable research techniques that can be adapted by other laboratories. The goal is to generate developments that optimize the trade off of sensitivity, speed, spatial resolution, and quantitation needed to study best, at the molecular level, the dynamical processes in living cells. The investigator has a proven record of accomplishment in the development and application of biophysical methods. Establishment of this imaging center will directly benefit a substantial user community both at Cornell and within the wider community.
