Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

We are a diverse team of biologists and geneticists collectively forming a cohesive team focused on understanding the molecular and genetic drivers of cellular heterogeneity. Cellular heterogeneity is constant across all phyla, from microbes to multicellular organisms. Diversity in a population of genetically identical or similar cells is thought to act as an evolutionary protection mechanism to cope with changing environments or improve efficiency amongst a population through cellular specialization. Even genetically identical cells grown under the same conditions can have vastly different phenotypes depending on their individual physiology and molecular fluctuations. To quantify cellular heterogeneity, high-throughput fluorescent microscopy is essential. Our department's only fluorescent microscope is malfunctioning and not repairable. We desperately require a high-performance, -resolution, and -speed imaging instrument to quantify events at the cellular and sub-cellular level in a diverse array of complex biological systems. Here, we propose the first Olympus APX100 microscope in Manitoba which will be crucial for the success of stalled, time-sensitive NSERC-funded programs, ensuring scientific excellence and accelerating HQP market training demands. This Automated High-Resolution Fluorescent Microscope (ARM) provides efficient, automated and unbiased whole-slide imaging of samples for quantitative analysis. It is a cost-effective, flexible fluorescent microscope that can image tissues from any model organism or cell culture. The rich content previously left unanalyzed in microscope slides can also be captured with high-resolution, high-speed cameras to create whole-slide images. Once digitized, data can easily be accessed by researchers anywhere without a microscope at hand. The instrument would not be limited by research area and benefit numerous NSERC-funded programs on campus, forming an integral part of at least 18 research programs at the University of Manitoba. ARM will prepare HQP in Manitoba for diverse careers and train them in biotechnology skills that will satisfy Canadian market needs. By housing this instrument in a common accessible space for all HQP across campus, ARM will act as a central nexus, facilitating collaborations and synergies in the Province. By streamlining the imaging process, providing additional visual aids, and lowering the barrier for training and use, ARM fundamentally changes how we train HQP, enabling them to approach their research with a new perspective that was previously not possible. Our Team is in dire need of this ARM to stimulate advances in genetics, cellular, molecular and stem cell biology. Access to the state-of-the-art ARM platform will ensure that the data generated from researchers in Manitoba is comparable to or exceeds international standards and positions researchers at the forefront of innovation.