# Cell Imaging Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $78,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: CELL IMAGING MODULE 
 The Vanderbilt Vision Research Center (VVRC) includes faculty investigators with a strong interest in 
discerning structure-function relationships in the visual pathways. These include inferences based on whole 
tissue analysis, single cell labeling, and localization of molecular components of biochemical cascades in 
involved in intra- and extracellular signaling. Such inferences require access to not only expert histological 
processing and labeling, but also sophisticated high-resolution microscopy imaging platforms. The purpose of 
the VVRC Cell Imaging Module is to provide a comprehensive resource for light and electron microscopy 
imaging by supplying support for managerial personnel of the Vanderbilt Cell Imaging Shared Resource 
(CISR), which includes a new Nikon Center of Excellence housed in the Department of Cell and 
Developmental Biology (Medical Center North). This support translates on a dollar-for-dollar basis to 
scholarships issued to VVRC investigators applicable for all CISR services, including the Nikon Center for 
Excellence. This scholarship system is implemented by the VUMC Office of Research and is utilized instead of 
a discount or co-pay via the VUMC ILab accounting system. In the current funding cycle, the Cell Imaging 
service was used by 19 investigators, 15 of whom authored 73 publications using the service, and saved our 
investigators $207,455 through issuance and utilization of 69 scholarships. In the next cycle, we expect 
moderate to extensive use by 21 of 36 investigators. The Cell Imaging Module, housed in centralized locations 
sufficient for 19 independent microscopy platforms, is directed by Associate Professor Rebecca M. 
Sappington, PhD. Using resources and personnel supported in part by this Core mechanism, the VVRC Cell 
Imaging Module will provide (1) a broad range of imaging modalities suitable for visual system tissues, (2) 
state-of-the-art image analysis software and data storage solutions, (3) consistent monitored access to imaging 
equipment and workstations, (4) imaging consultation on appropriate imaging modalities and sample pre- 
processing for visual system cell and tissue samples, and (5) training in the full spectrum of imaging modalities 
available in the CISR. These services and resources will enhance the scope of experimentation NEI-funded 
VVRC investigators conduct, expand the training of students and fellows involved in vision science, and 
promote collaboration by providing sophisticated, high-resolution and diverse imaging technology to those who 
otherwise would not have such capabilities, including early-career vision scientists and clinician-scientists 
competing for extramural funding for their laboratories.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10017255
- **Project number:** 5P30EY008126-33
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** David J. Calkins
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $78,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-04-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10017255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10017255, Cell Imaging Core (5P30EY008126-33). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10017255. Licensed CC0.

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