Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

<p>We are requesting a 4-channel laser scanning confocal microscope.&nbsp; This equipment will be housed in the Department of Biology and will allow continued support of 14 research programs across 5 departments at the University of Victoria.&nbsp; Our current microscope is over 10 years old and due to heavy usage has lost one of its three lasers as well as its ability to perform optical sectioning, a fundamental feature of the confocal microscope.&nbsp; There is no longer any warranty coverage on the current system and replacement parts are no longer available for many components.&nbsp; This request is therefore urgent.</p><p>Laser scanning confocal microscopy is a technique used to image biological specimens with high resolution.&nbsp; In particular, this approach allows one to focus on a given depth within the sample and collect diffraction limited ""optical sections"" that can be used for 3-dimensional image reconstruction.&nbsp; The requested optical imaging system will provide new functional capabilities and enhanced performance.&nbsp; It will increase the number of lasers and imaging channels that can be acquired from three to four.&nbsp; This will enable specimens to be examined using four different fluorescent labels simultaneously thus providing increased resolution of the state and composition of the cells being examined.&nbsp; The requested confocal system also has a scan speed that is the fastest in the industry for its product category.&nbsp; This will enable live cell imaging using new generation genetically-encoded fluorescent indicators that not only allow one to image structures such as synapses with the nervous system but also to view neural activity in real time. </p><p>The research programs that this equipment will support span a wide range of areas in the life sciences including neuroscience, cancer biology, botany, marine biology, ecology/evolution and gene regulation.</p>