# Histology and Imaging Core

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND · 2021 · $222,433

## Abstract

Phase 1 COBRE support resulted in the successful initiation of the Histology and Imaging Core and its
development into a critical resource for COBRE investigators and the research community at the University of
New England. The Core’s histology instruments include paraffin embedding and section processing
equipment, as well as microtomes, vibratomes and cryostats. Imaging equipment includes bright-field,
epifluorescent, stereologic and confocal microscopes. Technical services include immunohistochemistry and
antibody optimization. In Phase I, the H&I Core provided services to 18 investigators (8 UNE-COBRE, 6 UNE-
non-COBRE, 2 external contracts, 2 external COBRE), trained over 60 laboratory personnel, developed 11
new stains and optimized 60 antibodies. In Phase II, the Histology and Imaging Core will maintain existing
capabilities and its current outstanding level of performance and expand those capabilities significantly while
beginning to prepare for post-award sustainability. Proposed expansion includes the addition of antibody
validation services and the acquisition of a two-photon microscope configured for in vivo imaging. The superior
abilities of the two-photon system to penetrate tissues and detect faint signals with minimum noise and
phototoxicity will enable COBRE investigators to develop innovation in their experimental approaches. These
capabilities will have a regional impact, as such an instrument does not currently exist anywhere in southern
Maine. Finally, the H&I Core will provide an ambitious program of professional development for Core and
COBRE personnel. Critical training opportunities have been identified, including a summer program offered by
External Advisory Committee Member Dr. Yves De Koninck’s Neurophotonics Centre at Laval University in
nearby Quebec City, Canada. In order for the Core services to be sustained into the future, a fee-for-service
plan will be implemented, and an extensive outreach effort will be conducted to broaden the user base.
Special care has been taken to ensure that the Core capabilities do not duplicate those offered by other
COBRE and INBRE supported research cores. Instead, the Core has strategically specialized in unique
services such as a specialty in the processing of non-standard samples in a variety of research models. By
these efforts, the UNE H&I Core will provide critical research support to its many users and ensure maximum
utility to the broader research community in the State of Maine and neighboring IDeA states.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10176518
- **Project number:** 5P20GM103643-10
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND
- **Principal Investigator:** DEREK C MOLLIVER
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $222,433
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-08-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10176518

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10176518, Histology and Imaging Core (5P20GM103643-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10176518. Licensed CC0.

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