PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT A developing area of focus for Wake Forest University is the investigation of cellular and molecular aspects of microbial organisms. Novel research goals being pursued by these study teams will uncover detailed biochemical mechanisms within microbes that have direct relevance to human health and disease states. Microscopy represents a critical tool for all the studies outlined here with investigators collectively proposing emphasis on morphologic data measures that require acquisition of exceptional quality fluorescent and brightfield images. While the Wake Forest Microscopic Imaging Core Facility has been an historic area of strength for the Department of Biology, current needs are exceeding the available equipment capabilities in terms of both specific functionality and available imaging time. The Leica Thunder Live Cell Imager system requested here represents an ideal platform for meeting the directed research goals and plans outlined in this proposal. It will expand our existing capabilities by providing a high-speed fluorescence acquisition system with optimized living tissue imaging conditions, and will provide a new approach for automated large sample territory visualization and detailed image acquisition. In addition to providing equipment that will be crucial to carry out the directed activities outlined here, this system will serve as a key addition to broaden our extant technical framework that stimulates and supports microscopic investigations of biology and human health in our region.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Studies using microscopic imaging of cells and microbes with advanced fluorescence technology allows investigation regarding how disease states and viral infections relate to changes in the location, shape, or structure of cells and the materials that compose them. A variety of investigations relating to human health are proposed here that utilize microscopic imaging of living cells to examine changes that can only be observed by collecting a series of images to document dynamic cellular activity over time.