# Confocal microscope for a live cell imaging facility at biosafety level 2

> **NIH NIH S10** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $749,996

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
We are requesting a Leica STELLARIS 8 FALCON laser scanning confocal microscope for the microscopy facility
in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, which is part of the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus. A unique feature of our facility is the ability to perform
live cell imaging experiments with biological agents that require Biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) containment, including
human pathogens, such as Influenza A virus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Borrelia burgdorferi, Listeria
monocytogenes, Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii. The proposed instrument will represent the
first confocal microscope for this facility and within the current space restrictions will be singularly capable of
supporting the various advanced confocal microscopy needs of our users. Notable features that convinced us
during testing are its Wight Light Laser, translating into 350 laser lines, its imaging speed and the capacity to
detect up to five different fluorophores simultaneously, while offering the gentle imaging conditions needed for
live microscopy at confocal resolution. TauSense and FALCON enable the harnessing of fluorescence lifetime-
based information and with this provide additional image quality, the ability to separate overlapping fluorophores
and state-of-the-art measurements of protein interactions via FLIM-FRET. Altogether, the addition of this
instrument to our facility will significantly enhance NIH-funded projects of our users and greatly contribute to the
infectious disease focus and other key research areas of our institution.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10854135
- **Project number:** 1S10OD036404-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anne Hamacher-Brady
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $749,996
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-15 → 2025-06-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10854135

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10854135, Confocal microscope for a live cell imaging facility at biosafety level 2 (1S10OD036404-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10854135. Licensed CC0.

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