# STED Super-resolution Imaging System

> **NIH NIH S10** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2024 · $1,085,691

## Abstract

Project Summary
We are requesting funds to purchase an Abberior Facility-line STED microscope for the Advance Cell Imaging
Core (ACIC) at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). This instrument will serve a primary user group of 14
investigators, most of whom are well-funded by NIH. These investigators study a variety of projects across
diverse fields in cell biology, neuroscience, endocrinology, microbiology, cancer biology, and drug discovery. A
common feature of these research projects is the deep reliance on microscopy to understand how molecule-
scale structures dictate cell- and tissue-scale function. However, these investigators are facing a major barrier:
the lack of access to a suitable super-resolution imaging system to resolve and monitor the nanostructures of
interest. STED microscopy is an ideal solution over other super-resolution strategies (e.g., PALM, STORM,
SIM, and ExM) for this research community because it operates similarly to confocal as a turn-key system and
provides about a 5-fold or higher resolution increase. Many users in this group have ample expertise in
confocal microscopy and quantification, making STED implementation easier. Abberior 3D-STED provides not
only excellent resolution but also combines the latest innovations that facilitate super-resolution imaging in
thicker tissues and live cells. As there is no single STED microscope in our medical school and other
universities in Milwaukee, its acquisition will significantly propel the research progress across multiple
departments, programs, and institutions in southeastern Wisconsin. This instrument will provide mechanistic
understandings of diverse biomedical topics, such as synapses, ion channels, receptor function, autophagy
trafficking, mitochondrial dynamics, intracellular signaling, cell migration, organ development, and
neurodegeneration. These projects will benefit from access to this STED nanoscope. This instrument will be
installed at the imaging core (ACIC) and maintained by the experienced, PhD-level staff. Together, the
acquisition of the Abberior 3D-STED microscope will promote new understandings of cellular structures,
dynamics, and function at the nanometer scale, which is highly relevant to human health and disease. This
instrument will significantly accelerate NIH-funded research programs at MCW and other institutions in the
region. This application responds to PAR-22-079 “High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grant Program”

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10852363
- **Project number:** 1S10OD034247-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** XUELIN LOU
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,085,691
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10852363

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10852363, STED Super-resolution Imaging System (1S10OD034247-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10852363. Licensed CC0.

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