Proposal

Name:

Enhancing Undergraduate Teaching and Research by Hands-On Learning Using Fluorescence Microscopy

FiscalYear:

2017

Audience:

Science, College of

Submitter:

Cudic, Mare

Budget Manager:

Blanchard, Dominique

Project Manager:

Cudic, Mare

Proposal Approvers

Dept. Chair:

Fields, Gregg

Local IT:

N/A

Dean:

Sarajedini, Ata

Facilities:

N/A

OIT:

Bagdonas, Joseph A.

Proposal Funding

Year 1:

$ 0.00

Year 2:

$ 0.00

Year 3:

$ 0.00

Total:

$ 0.00

Proposal Funding versus Average

Questionnaire

Narrative
The funds requested in this proposal are aimed towards purchasing a fluorescent microscope as part of our continuing commitment to improve technologies offered to undergraduate students, both through teaching upper lever undergraduate courses and by offering opportunities for independent undergraduate research at the interface of chemistry and biology. This was recently stated as one of the crucial requirements for continuing ACS accreditation of our Chemistry Undergraduate Major. It is well established that undergraduate students who engage in research activities, especially early in their college careers, are not only more likely to complete their degrees, but are also more likely to pursue careers in STEM. On average ~80 students per year participate in the Directed Independent Study (DIS) Program from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. An estimated 50% of those students are Biology major. In addition, we expect that the proposed technology will also be used by students enrolled in the recently approved Honors in Chemistry Program. Dr. Cudic has been serving as a Program Director since its implementation in fall 2016. According to the recent review by ACS Committee on Professional Training the research-based Honors Program was described as a unique and interesting approach to synergizing research and student rigor. Currently, ten students participate in the Program. We estimate the overall number of students per year that will greatly benefit from using this cutting-edge technological hardware and/or software is at least ~ 500+. Accordingly, these efforts will accelerate students’ attainment of knowledge and research experiences enabling faster completion of their undergraduate degrees, and overall prepare them better for continuation of their education in a graduate program and/or for a highly competitive STEM job market. The interaction of light with matter has been widely utilized in the physical, chemical and biological sciences. The technique of fluorescence microscopy has become an essential tool in biology and the biomedical sciences. Fluorescence microscopy is also important for identifying fluorescent minerals, contaminants and impurities in new materials, geology, semiconductor inspection, and environmental protection. The growth of research at the chemistry-biology interface requires some adjustments in the undergraduate chemistry/biochemistry curricula. While students learn about the light absorption by biomolecules and spectrophotometry, the application of fluorescence microscopy is lagging. Simple and practical applications can be easily taught by visual demonstration over a broad spectrum of courses (physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry) with the availability of the fluorescent microscope. This technology would provide students with the unique opportunity to learn many of the applications of fluorescence microscopy through hands-on learning in a variety of laboratories. The EVOS fluorescent microscope is compact and portable system for use in laboratory (hands-on small group demonstrations) or classroom teaching (larger audience). Considering FAU’s mission to excellence in teaching and research and our departmental strengths in Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery research, we strongly believe that the acquisition of a fluorescent microscope will further improve the necessary skills of our undergraduates to succeed and excel in pursuing their science careers. This is essential to meet the demand of a rapidly growing biotech industry in south Florida. Consequently, acquiring of this technology aligns well with FAU’s pillars and platforms, Healthy Aging and Neuroscience, and Undergraduate Research and Inquiry and Community Engagement and Economic Development Platform, respectively. The Chemistry Department has been generously funded by the FAU Tech Fee grants in the past, and we hope that the acquisition of the new fluorescence microscope technology will build on the current strengths of our Department in providing state-of-the-art hardware and software technologies to our students. The incorporation of this technology into teaching and research training can be achieved by a) developing Research and Inquiry (RI) designated courses; b) incorporation of the fluorescence microscopy component within the upper-level division lab courses, and c) involvement of students in Chemistry DIS and Honors Program students in practical training in applying fluorescence microscopy to their systems of interest. The instrument will be located in Dr. Mare Cudic’s lab. Her research interests are in the field of glycosciences. Dr. Cudic has 6-8 undergraduate students (Chemistry and Biology majors) participating in DIS program in Chemistry in average every semester. Students in her lab receive a unique training experience that brings together many aspects of synthetic organic chemistry, glycochemistry and glycobiology.
Facilities
N/A
Hardware Requirements
Fisher Scientific (preferred quote): EVOS® FL Imaging System is a fully integrated, digital, inverted imaging system for four-color fluorescence and transmitted-light applications. The optical system includes a full range of high-quality objectives from 10x to 100x magnification, and two LED light cubes for fluorescence imaging. EVOS system is designed for multichannel fluorescence imaging, to perform a variety of routine and specialty applications. It is compact and portable systems for use in laboratory (hands-on small group demonstrations) or classroom teaching (larger audience). Quote details: Quoted on 11/28/2017, quote prepared by Mandat Sean, Fisher Scientific, sean.mandat@thermofisher.com, (800) 766-7000 Installation and training are included in the quote. Shipping is free of charge. Hardware & Software subtotal = (this quote does not itemize hardware versus software costs) Total = $33,653.68
Software Requirements
Fisher Scientific (preferred quote): EVOS® FL Imaging System: The system has on-board computer that makes it easy to run and use, and the intuitive, comprehensive software facilitates both image acquisition and analysis. Modules include time-lapse acquisition, manual-assist cell counting, and image review. Saved user settings work in conjunction with "smart" controls to help increase efficiency and ease of use. Image data are saved to a USB flash drive for easy, portable data transfer or to a Windows-networked local server. Images can be saved in PNG, JPEG, BMP, and TIFF formats with a maximum captured image resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels. The system is allowing students to work on the data analysis on their own computers and on their own convenience. Quote details: Quoted on 11/28/2017, quote prepared by Mandat Sean, Fisher Scientific, sean.mandat@thermofisher.com, (800) 766-7000 Installation and training are included in the quote. Shipping is free of charge. Hardware & Software subtotal = (this quote does not itemize hardware versus software costs) Total = $33,653.68
Personnel Costs
Undergraduate teaching assistant will assist with incorporating technology into the upper level division courses (Advanced Biochemistry with RI designation), and lab (Biochemistry Laboratory) for the first two years. The teaching assistant will also assist the undergraduate students wanting to use the technology for their DIS or Honors Thesis projects across the University. The teaching assistant will be supervised by Dr. Cudic.
Other Costs
None
Timeline
In the event of this proposal being funded the installation of EVOS® FL Imaging System will be completed by Fisher Scientific representative immediately after its delivery. Dr. Mare Cudic will coordinate the installation process. Minimal assistance from Information Technology (IT) staff in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (CESCoS) will be required.
Sustainability
The requested systems (EVOS® FL Imaging System requires minimal additional maintenance and Dr. Mare Cudic will be in charge of maintaining proper operation of these instruments.
Resource Matching
Additional analytical technologies previously purchased from other funds will be utilized as complementary training methods for our students. These include Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) instrument, Horiba XPLora Raman microscope, Perkin-Elmer STA-6000 Thermo Analyzer, Biotek Cytation 5 multimode microplate reader, and Biotek EPOCH microplate spectrophotometer (monochromator) equipped with Take3 micro-volume plates for nucleic acid and protein quantification.
Implementing Organization
N/A

Proposal Budget

Fiscal Year 1 Fiscal Year 2 Fiscal Year 3 Total
Hardware One-Time $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Hardware Recurring $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Software One-time $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Software Recurring $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Personnel One-time $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Personnel Recurring $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Other One-time $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Other Recurring $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
Totals $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00

Supporting Documentation

Filename Size Description
Quote 7332-8323-47_2017.pdf 146,093b EVOS system quote from Fisher