An award is made to Franklin & Marshall College for a laser scanning confocal microscope that will enable the study of cells, tissues, and other materials at high resolution that cannot be achieved with traditional light microscopy, and thus allow investigation of new questions in both research and teaching. A diverse group of faculty and students from multiple departments at F&M (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics and Astronomy, and Psychology), from other institutions of higher education including Millersville University and Elizabethtown College, and from the School District of Lancaster will use the laser-based microscope system for state-of-the-art image capture and analysis. In addition to student-faculty collaborative research projects, the confocal microscope will enable cutting-edge research experiences for a large and diverse group of about 170 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) undergraduates and 55 urban high school students annually. Students will view and measure stained or living cells in courses from high school biology to advanced neurobiology and will investigate the immune system, cancer, and development. The microscope will contribute significantly to the education of first-generation college students (about 15% of F&M's student population) and underrepresented groups. The confocal microscope will provide research opportunities for undergraduates that integrate technology common at research universities with direct faculty mentoring that is the hallmark of a liberal arts education at F&M. The confocal will also enhance local research infrastructure and increase the participation of women and underrepresented groups in science. The high quality, state-of-the-art instrument will enhance F&M's ability to offer up-to-date training to students and provide outreach to train the next generation of scientists.
The confocal microscope will enhance the scientific findings of many faculty who study a diverse range of topics in terrestrial and aquatic microbes, plants and animals, from fundamental mechanisms of cellular processes to biomechanics, development and cognition, and will help offer high-quality research opportunities to undergraduates. Projects that will use the range of capabilities of the confocal microscope include: gene expression involved in the formation of plant seeds; modification of hippocampal dendrites as a function of space use; novel cellular mechanisms of mammalian brain development; computer simulations of brain cell function in different regions of cortex; characterization of NLR proteins involved in inflammation; distribution of proteins critical for heart and skeletal development; signaling regulation of tumor suppressor proteins; and the morphology of obliquely striated muscle cells. Research at nearby Millersville University and Elizabethtown College focused on evolving spatial patterns of microbes diversity over time, migration of cells during turtle shell formation, and cellular stress responses of aquatic Hydra species will be enhanced with access to the microscope allowing diverse scientific discoveries.
