Shared Vision and Brain Imaging Center
| Initiative: | Shared Vision and Brain Imaging Center |
| University: | UH, College of Optometry |
| Focus: | Biological and Life Sciences |
Background
UH has a strong group of investigators involved in vision research. The scope of vision research at UH is broad, ranging from studies of the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction in individual neurons, to investigations of the relationship between brain structure and function, to quantitative modeling of higher-order brain processing. Many of these vision faculty are in the College of Optometry, the home base for a shared core grant from the National Eye Institute, but vision/brain groups also exist in the Colleges of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and Cullen College of Engineering. Although the approaches are diverse, the ongoing and planned research in almost every laboratory would be greatly enhanced by direct access to modern bio-imaging equipment.
Program Description
Modern structural and functional analysis in the brain and visual system requires a multileveled approach. Our goal is to establish a multiuser imaging center based on three fundamental and distinct technologies. Specifically, support is requested for: (1) a multi-photon, fluorescence, confocal microscope system that will provide high-resolution functional imaging in living cells, (2) a transmission electron microscope for sub-cellular and elemental analyses, and (3) an anatomical and functional brain imaging system based on magnetic resonance imaging technology that will support studies in both humans and laboratory animals. The proposed shared facility would integrate vision and brain research activities across departments and promote greater collaboration. The College of Optometry currently has the infrastructure in place to manage such a shared facility and a clinical population that could provide critical patient material for imaging studies.
Priorities Addressed
Like the great majority of research that is currently being conducted by UH's vision community, it is anticipated that the requested technologies will be used in studies that have high program relevance for the National Eye Institute and that have been identified as needed areas for research in NEI's A National Plan. It is also significant that NIH, in recognition of the critical role that imaging will play in future biomedical research, has recently established an institute to develop and maintain extramural centers dedicated to molecular/functional imaging research.
Qualifications
The College of Optometry has an outstanding vision science faculty that has a long history of support from NIH's National Eye Institute. Of the 13 tenure-track faculty in our basic sciences department, 12 have individual R01 grants from NIH. The college also has two NIH institutional training grants, an NIH Core grant to support research infrastructure, two NIH U10 grants for multicenter clinical trials, and our Texas Eye Research and Technology Center receives substantial extramural support from industry. In addition, Vision Core participants primarily in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Biology and Biochemistry have five additional NIH grants that include a strong vision component, and established investigators in Cognitive Psychology are involved in federally supported brain imaging projects. Current UH faculty have first-hand experience with all of the requested technologies. However, at the present time, faculty who are using these technologies are forced to work off campus or in some cases to use technology that is out of date (e.g., the college's electronic microscope is 26 years old).
Funding Request
| Confocal Microscope | $500,000 |
| Electron Microscope | $500,000 |
| MRI technology | $9,300,000 |
| Total Requested Funds | $10,300,000 |
