# Leica Stellaris 8 Confocal Microscope System

> **NIH NIH S10** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI KANSAS CITY · 2022 · $599,252

## Abstract

7. Project Summary/Abstract
Our ability to understand cellular function in health and disease from the macro to micro to nano and even to the
atomic scale depend on the capabilities of state-of-the-art advanced instrumentation. The NIH funded projects
described in this S10 application require enhanced imaging resolution and multi-spectral capabilities for their
fluorescence microscopy applications to advance to the next level. A Leica Stellaris 8 laser scanning confocal
microscope is requested and will be located in the UMKC Confocal and Multiphoton Microscopy Core Facility. This
instrument will replace and upgrade our current Leica TCS II Sp5 confocal microscope that operates as a shared
resource to support the research programs of a core group of NIH funded major users as well as minor and other
users in the UMKC Schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy, Medicine, Biological Sciences, Computing and Engineering, and
the nearby Children’s Mercy Hospital. The user group has a diverse research emphasis on musculoskeletal research,
neural/vision research, developmental biology, craniofacial and dental research, molecular biology, yeast genetics,
neurodegeneration, aging, cancer and drug delivery, materials science, and even petrochemical research. To
accommodate the wide-ranging project applications, the instrument will be configured for confocal microscopy on
fixed cell and tissue specimens, and for live cell imaging, multispectral imaging, fluorescence recovery after
photobleaching (FRAP), optical sectioning/3D imaging, and reflection imaging. Three of the projects employing this
technology are examining mechanisms of signaling crosstalk between muscle and bone that may regulate age related
osteoporosis and sarcopenia. The projects are using live cell imaging to monitor mitochondrial function and
extracellular vesicle-mediated muscle-bone communication and are using 3D confocal imaging to assess the cellular
and structural organization of bone in aged gain and loss of function mouse models with and without exercise. One
project is using live cell imaging to examine mechanisms controlling calcium signaling to prevent neurodegeneration
in early stage glaucoma and two projects are developing drug delivery and tissue engineering approaches to treat
age related macular degeneration. Other projects are focused on molecular and cellular mechanisms of cleft palate
formation, heart contractile function and calcium signaling, developmental jaw morphogenesis, single cell and spatial
genomics in pediatric bone tissues, finite element and fluid dynamic modeling of osteocyte mechanotransduction and
nanoparticle systems for drug delivery in cancer and fibrosis. The Stellaris 8 confocal system will accelerate the
progress of these projects by providing an exceptional level of resolution and sensitivity that is needed for 3D cell and
tissue imaging and live cell imaging in mineralized and other tissues. The multi-spectral imaging capabilities of the
Stellaris 8, the versati...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10431037
- **Project number:** 1S10OD032373-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI KANSAS CITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SARAH L DALLAS
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $599,252
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2023-08-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10431037

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10431037, Leica Stellaris 8 Confocal Microscope System (1S10OD032373-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10431037. Licensed CC0.

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