# Cellular Imaging Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $116,625

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: Cellular Imaging Core
Advanced cellular microscopy is a powerful tool for biological research and has an important role to play in
the study of disease pathogenesis, which may translate eventually to novel treatment approaches for
rheumatic diseases. Imaging technology has evolved rapidly over the last decade leading to improvements
in resolution, sensitivity and speed which have created fundamentally new opportunities for studying
processes across many orders of magnitude and in real-time in living cells and animals. At the same time,
the costs of increasingly sophisticated equipment are substantial and the expertise to efficiently use, maintain,
and develop this equipment is not common in most labs. There is therefore a significant gap between the
availability of these powerful tools and the ability of investigators to access and use them efficiently. The
Cellular Imaging Core (CIC) was originally created in response to feedback from Washington University
Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Center (WU-RDRRC) members to leverage the significant
institutional investment in the newly created Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging (WUCCI) and
provide an integrated approach to investigate the structure and dynamic behavior of cells and tissues in
rheumatic disease-related model systems. The overall objective of the core is to provide access to and
technical support in using advanced cellular microscopy tools to accelerate the pace, expand the scope, and
improve efficiency of rheumatic diseases research. The core services meet the unique requirements of
numerous investigators over a wide range of basic and translational research, attracting new investigators
into rheumatic diseases research areas. Importantly the users benefit from the in-depth technical expertise of
the Core Director and technical staff in the time spent in consultation for experimental design and
interpretation of data. During the past funding cycle, the core served 28 WU-RDRRC investigator research
laboratories, who expensed $520,699 in core recharges, which represented approximately 12% of all WUCCI
activity. Fourteen WU-RDRRC investigator laboratories received micro-grant funding through the WU-
RDRRC Imaging Core Scholarship program, 5 of which were junior faculty members. Given the broad usage
of core over the past funding cycle, and the establishment of new imaging technologies (e.g. cryoEM and
lattice lightsheet), sample preparation services (e.g. tissue clearing), and analysis approaches (e.g. AI-based
IHC and IF image analysis), it is anticipated that requests for CIC services will continue to be robust given the
overwhelming need for advanced microscopic imaging and image analysis approaches, thus accelerating the
research endeavors of WU-RDRRC members throughout the next funding cycle.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10925281
- **Project number:** 5P30AR073752-07
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** David W Piston
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $116,625
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2028-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10925281

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10925281, Cellular Imaging Core (5P30AR073752-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10925281. Licensed CC0.

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