# Elyra 7 Microscope with Lattice SIM2

> **NIH NIH S10** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2022 · $600,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
The UCSD School of Medicine Microscopy Core is the largest light microscopy core facility on campus and has
been serving UCSD researchers for 18 years. It is accessible by all UCSD researchers regardless of
department affiliation and currently has over 200 registered user labs across the campus. The Core enjoys
strong support from the faculty and our institutional leadership. The current array of 12 instruments at the Core
includes multiple confocal systems, multiphoton, light sheet, Gatan 3View serial block face scanning EM, slide
scanning, as well as others. A critical need exists in the realm of cutting-edge super-resolution live cell
imaging, which is currently lacking locally. At the moment, our only super-resolution systems are point
scanning confocal platforms which are slow and heavily photo-bleach samples. Here we seek funding to
acquire an Elyra 7 system with Lattice SIM2 from Zeiss as our primary super-resolution live cell imaging
system. This system can also be used to image developing model organisms and thick fixed specimens. The
groundbreaking 2-fold increase in sampling efficiency over classic SIM (Structured Illumination Microscopy)
enables fast, gentle 3D super-resolution imaging at penetrating depths on par with point scanning confocal
microscopy. Our on-site instrument demonstration validated the initial Elyra 7 system with Lattice SIM (Version
1) as a practical solution for super-resolution live cell imaging, which also comes with some innovative
processing modalities that further enhance speed and versatility. With the recent introduction of the dual
iterative reconstruction algorithm, the newly upgraded Elyra 7 Lattice SIM2 has substantially improved the
resolution of the system from 120 nm XY and 300 nm Z to a remarkable 60 nm XY and 200 nm Z. The
upgraded SIM2 system is also more flexible requiring fewer phase shifts for image reconstruction. Our
proposed user labs illustrate a critical need among the local investigators for the proposed system in advancing
their NIH-funded research. They come from all corners of the campus, and their research programs collectively
cover a range of biomedical research fields with many disease areas represented, including cancer, diabetes,
cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, infectious, inflammatory, neurological and psychiatric diseases among
others. If funded, the Elyra 7 Lattice SIM2 technology platform will be extensively utilized by proposed users
and additionally will reach a potentially much larger user base as our core has proven capable of disseminating
cutting-edge microscopy technologies to the wide local research community. Adequate space and
infrastructure, capable staff, robust faculty oversight, and strong institutional commitment along with a track
record of program-leading core grant citations will ensure the effective and efficient use of the proposed
instrument for years to come. The Elyra 7 Lattice SIM2 system will fill a current void in our...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10431347
- **Project number:** 1S10OD030505-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Binhai Zheng
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $600,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10431347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10431347, Elyra 7 Microscope with Lattice SIM2 (1S10OD030505-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10431347. Licensed CC0.

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