Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The equipment for which funds are requested is required for my research on the development and evolution of the vertebrate head.  The equipment requested includes a laser-ablation and microinjection system and two microscopes.  Both the laser system and the micromanipulator connect with the microscopes.  The laser system enables the removal of cells or clumps of cells in living embryos in order to observe their effects on development. The micromanipulator enables microinjections to be made into live embryos.  As a developmental biologist, I need quality microscopes that can be used to observe sectioned embryos, live embryos undergoing development and whole mount stained embryos. Total removal of tissue by dissection often has too harsh an affect on the developing embryo but with the requested laser system partial and precise deletions can be conducted without disrupting surrounding tissue. My research will significantly contribute to our understanding of eye and skull development and how these two systems are connected developmentally. This research is unique in that it integrates these two systems, which are not often viewed as connected. How these systems are integrated and how they have evolved are key questions in my research program. Without this equipment, my research program will not be able to take place. Access to this equipment by other researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows will be welcomed.  There is great potential to foster both intra-departmental and inter-university research collaborations by obtaining this equipment as neither my UFA nominating university nor nearby local universities have a laser ablation microscope system that includes micromanipulator and time-lapse video microscopy.