Eric H. Schroeter - US grants

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The vertebrate retina is a highly organized neural structure where the basic identity and function of individual cell types have been established. Although much is known about the basic structure and function of the retina, much less is known about the events that influence how its neurons differentiate and find their synaptic partners. The zebrafish is an excellent model system to study these events. Embryos develop rapidly and their transparency enables direct visualization of retinal neurons from their birth to maturity. Furthermore, the genetics of this model organism, and the ability to easily manipulate the embryo, allow probing of the molecular mechanisms behind observed cellular behaviors. This study will employ a newly created a method to conditionally ablate specific cells in transgenic zebrafish. This technology permits modeling of cell loss at any stage of development and can be used to mimic degenerative disease states. These transgenic fish will show how loss of a single cell type affects the developing retina. This system will also inform us about differentiation and circuit assembly during regeneration. Unlike mammals, zebrafish can extensively regenerate damaged tissue. Using this technology will allow us to monitor differentiation and synapse formation during regeneration of the vertebrate nervous system. Understanding how this process occurs in fish may eventually help us modulate regenerative capacity in human neural degenerative diseases. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project will explore how neurons in the retina behave during normal development, degeneration, and regeneration in zebrafish. Understanding how this process occurs in fish may eventually help us modulate regenerative capacity in human neural degenerative diseases.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

A grant has been awarded to Loyola University Chicago to purchase a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope. Confocal technology reduces blur in microscope images, thereby enabling scientists to see what would otherwise be obscured. It also allows a "3D" image to be created. The research at Loyola University Chicago spans a broad range of topics including developmental neurobiology, parasitology, evolution of hearing, and the impact of algal communities on the food chain. The diversity of research benefiting from the confocal microscope illustrates the importance of this technology for advancing the life sciences. Confocal technology will dramatically enhance training of undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Trainees as well as professors will be able to pursue projects that were previously impossible at Loyola University. The equipment will also be used in at least three laboratory courses. Loyola students who do not conduct research or take the Imaging course will still benefit from the acquisition of the confocal system because many attend public student research poster presentations that take place during the Fall, Spring, and Summer sessions. Loyola also strives to recruit motivated high school graduates from racially diverse and financially underprivileged areas, many of whom become Biology majors and some of whom work in laboratories in which imaging is key. Results from the projects conducted with the confocal system will be published in peer-reviewed journals, and disseminated by students and faculty during presentations at regional and national meetings.