Advanced photomanipulation microscopy at the Cambridge Advanced Imaging Centre (360G-Wellcome-212936_Z_18_Z)

The Cambridge Advanced Imaging Centre (CAIC) is a research facility in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Since opening in 2013, physical scientists at CAIC have worked with biologists to bring online several new and unique microscopes which are now utlised by over 100 research labs from 16 Departments. While pushing the frontiers of imaging technology, we have identified a critical lack in the ability to perform photomanipulation experiments combined with fast imaging. These experiments include optogenetics, photoactivation, ablation or bleaching specific regions of cells or parts of cells, sometimes deep in tissues, whilst imaging in real time from millimetre to nanometre scales. Research that will benefit from this technology spans multiple departments and a diverse range of groups, including many Wellcome Trust funded researchers. We are requesting resource to develop an advanced microscope capable of a wide range of manipulation and imaging modalities. This technology will require three major components: adaptive optics for fast shaping of light; extensive range of lasers to enable exploitation of existing and emerging fluorophores and the newest generation of spinning disk confocal unit with cameras for fast and and low photon number imaging.