MRI: Acquisition of a Zeiss LSM900 Confocal Microscope with Airyscan 2 to Accelerate Multidisciplinary Research and Training

An award is made to Queens College of The City University of New York for the purchase of a Zeiss LSM 900 Confocal Microscope with Airyscan for the Core Facility for Imaging, Cell, and Molecular Biology. There is a critical need to support faculty and student research productivity at institutions that educate undergraduate students who will become the next generation of scientists and science-literate citizens.

Enabling faculty at these institutions to remain engaged in their scientific fields of expertise ensures that student education and training is vibrant, welcoming, and relevant. Small laboratory groups facilitate mentoring relationships and contribute to scientific knowledge in ways that are complementary to those achieved in larger groups. This project will support activities that will positively impact the student and trainee populations at Queens College and enhance the scientific infrastructure for neighboring institutions.

Queens College students, faculty, and administrators are ethnically diverse. They have a long-standing commitment to providing access to underserved populations. The acquisition of a Zeiss LSM 900 confocal microscope will enhance the faculty’s expertise.

Research results will be disseminated in seminars and peer-reviewed publications. The state-of-the-art microscope will enable the design and execution of a new microscopy course for upper-level undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students. This project will strengthen STEM outreach activities of underrepresented groups through collaboration with existing college programs that aim to promote access to and interest in STEM for underrepresented students.

Images from the microscope will be used in the public outreach activities of the faculty, which include Twitter outreach, and mentoring high school students.

The Zeiss LSM 900 Confocal Microscope with Airyscan was selected for its specific features that meet the challenges of cellular imaging required by the faculty’s research programs, for the similarity of its user interface and software with other equipment at the institution, and for its flexibility to meet anticipated future needs as research programs grow, new faculty are hired, and collaborations are formed. The instrument will be housed in the multi-user Core Facility for Imaging, Cell and Molecular Biology and will enhance the growing multidisciplinary scientific research on campus and enrich undergraduate and graduate student training at this minority-serving institution.

The Core Facility serves users that include laboratories in the Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Physics, and Psychology Departments at Queens College. Research activities will include investigations on cell signaling in normal development and physiology, cell defense mechanisms against aging and cancer, regulation of gene expression, neural mechanisms of learning, and the effects of chronic pain on the brain.

The instrument will enable Queens College’s faculty to conduct cutting edge research and train undergraduates and graduate students in qualitative and quantitative fluorescent imaging, which will enhance their education and preparation for future careers in the biological sciences.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.