Aquisition of a Confocal Microscope

Baylor College Of Medicine, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

A tri-laser confocal microscope will be placed in a state-of-the-art biological imaging resource in the Integrated Microscopy Core (IMC), Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology (MCB) at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). Laser scanning confocal microscopy fills an important niche in structural biology by providing much higher resolution images from fixed or lives fluorescently labeled specimens through aperture-based removal of out-of-focus light. Research will be conducted in cell and molecular biology and will include research on the structural basis of mitosis in eukaryotic cells, cell signaling, pattern formation, developmental biology of a wide variety of organisms, transcription factor function and nuclear organization. The improved IMC will serve the MCB faculty (83) and trainees (72 students; 123 postdocs), and as throughout its 25 year history, also will be available to investigators and students throughout Baylor, including numerous outreach programs for young scientists and minority groups. This instrument will greatly enhance the ability to perform biological imaging at Baylor, and will serve as a shared resource throughout the Texas Medical Center.