# Zeiss LSM 980 Airyscan 2 Microscope for Shared Mental Health Research

> **NIH NIH S10** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $599,999

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This proposal represents a request from a group of 6 NIMH-funded investigators with overlapping imaging needs
for funding to acquire a shared Zeiss LSM980 Airyscan 2 confocal / super-resolution imaging platform to facilitate
the visualization and quantification of the three-dimensional spatial organization of fixed cells and tissues as well
as living specimens, with the latter including the need to monitor time-dependent changes. The system will be
housed in the Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging (WUCCI), a shared technology resource at the
School of Medicine. The current laser scanning confocal / super-resolution Airyscan microscopes in the WUCCI
are already heavily subscribed and additional dedicated capacity is needed to facilitate the work of the NIMH-
funded Major user projects described herein. The Zeiss LSM980 Airyscan 2 microscope platform is configured
with (i) a Zeiss Axio Observer 7 inverted motorized microscope frame, (ii) 405 nm, 488 nm, 561 nm, and 639 nm
excitation lasers, (iii) high-sensitivity PMTs, a 32-element spectral detector and a super-resolution Airyscan 2
detector, (iv) a variety of dry and immersion-based objective lenses and (v) a stage-top incubation system to
facilitate the physiological imaging of living specimens. Six investigators from the Departments of Genetics and
Neuroscience at the School of Medicine will make use of this imaging platform to enable a wide-range of studies
aimed at investigating the genetic regulation of synapse-localized translation, the molecular mechanisms of gene
regulation as well as the discovery and characterization of genetic etiological factors involved in Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), how mGluR5 mediated signal transduction is implicated in anxiety and depression and how loss
of hippocampal activity leads to learning and memory deficits in cognitive disease. While the instrument has
been configured to meet the specific needs of the NIMH major user group, we thoroughly expect it to impact
many other research programs. The expertise and institutional support for this instrument are exceptional. Dr.
James Fitzpatrick, the Scientific Director of WUCCI, and Dr. David Piston, the Chair of Cell Biology & Physiology
and Chair of the WUCCI Advisory Board, are both world-renowned experts in cellular microscopy and their
combined leadership brings over 40 years of experience in providing cost-efficient training and support for high-
quality quantitative cellular imaging to a wide range of NIH-funded users. In support of this S10 grant application,
the institution will also commit a total of $140,000 over five years to ensure the long-term success of this
instrument.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10282117
- **Project number:** 1S10MH126964-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** David W Piston
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $599,999
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10282117

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10282117, Zeiss LSM 980 Airyscan 2 Microscope for Shared Mental Health Research (1S10MH126964-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10282117. Licensed CC0.

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