ShEEP Request for Zeiss LSM880 with Airyscan

Va Boston Health Care System, Boston MA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

This proposal describes a request for funds to purchase a Zeiss LSM880 Airyscan multichannel spectral imaging microscope with 32-channel detector and clarity objective. This is a versatile, integrated state-of-the-art super-resolution microscope system that will be used by more than ten funded VA investigators at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) to further research in the neurosciences and other disciplines. The present application describes our need for this instrument, its technical specifications, examples of how research can be furthered at VABHS through the use of this instrument, and a plan for its administration. Recent technical developments such as optogenetics, the use of cleared tissues, and transgenic animals expressing fluorescent protein- based reporters for cell function have enabled unprecedented possibilities in the neurosciences and other biological disciplines. The Airyscan super-resolution microscope will allow investigators at VABHS to take advantage of these new technologies. The ability to clearly resolve individual neurons and their connections in cleared tissues will allow unprecedented visualization of brain networks. This instrument will be of particular importance in moving discovery into cellular mechanisms of traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer?s disease to the next level. In spite of the clear need, there is currently no such instrument at VABHS.