In this project, a group of five principal investigators (Drs. S. Wolniak, I. Mather, J. Kwak, L. Pick and C. Delwiche) describe a plan to use a new-generation laser scan confocal microscope for a variety of experiments on living cells and tissues. Experiments focus on the trafficking of proteins and other molecules in cells, on the development of a ciliary apparatus in developing sperm cells, on the regulation of uptake of carbon dioxide by plant leaves, on mechanisms leading to the specific distribution patterns of growth factors in developing fly embryos, and on algal parasite development. The microscope permits live cell imaging using both modern confocal scanning and multi-photon excitation for penetration into thick specimens. The specific instrument to be purchased with these funds is a Leica SP-5, which will be equipped with four lasers and dual detectors for prism-based spectroscopic detection (to distinguish among overlapping signals) and resonance detection (for rapid imaging of sensitive cells). These features will greatly enhance the imaging capabilities of faculty and students who use the instrument. The microscope will be installed in a Shared Core Microscopy Imaging laboratory, where several other heavily used instruments are already housed. The core lab is overseen by Ms. Amy Beaven, a research support technician, who is most capable of providing training and overseeing the use of the microscope. Beyond the five major users of this microscope, there is an additional group of seven individuals who list themselves as occasional users of this instrument. Their research interests center on the development of the visual system in mammals, the dynamics of antigen presentation in immune cells, the structure and function of phloem in plants, the formation, development and maintenance of neurons in flies, and on programmed cell death in flies and mammals.
This core laboratory provides access to state-or-the-art microscopes to over eighty faculty and students who are currently working at the University of Maryland and to approximately twenty collaborators and colleagues at nearby institutions. These microscopes are far too expensive to purchase and maintain in individual research laboratories, but they are essential for critical imaging of cells and tissues in ongoing research projects. A critical mission of the institution is training students in modern techniques with state-of the-art instrumentation. Thus, both research and training are conducted at the Visual Imaging Center. A formal training course in light microscopy is taught by S. Wolniak and A. Beaven each fall semester to approximately a dozen graduate students and undergraduates. These students receive hands-on training with the instrumentation currently housed in the laboratory, and they generate images of their samples with the microscopes. Students will be trained on the SP-5 through this course. In addition, practical training on the microscopes is conducted on an as-needed basis. Over 120 individuals have been trained in the Visual Imaging Center during the last six years through formal and informal mechanisms.
