Imaging Core

Imaging Core Project Summary Over the past decade there has been a revolution in imaging technology and its application to basic biomedical research. The Imaging Core Module will be a critical resource in bringing this technology to the vision research community at Yale. Advanced imaging equipment is expensive and typically cannot be purchased and maintained with the resources of a single investigator. Moreover, with the nearly complete conversion of imaging to advanced optics and digital methods, sophisticated data acquisition and analysis techniques are required to quantitatively examine visual system structure, development and function. The Yale Vision Core Program, through this Imaging module, will provide access to state-of-the-art imaging technologies and the necessary training in advanced imaging approaches for vision investigators at Yale. The Imaging Core module's primary goal is to facilitate the wide use of advanced optical and digital imaging techniques within the Yale vision research community. This is achieved by three means. First, Yale School of Medicine and the Departments of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology & Visual Science have made and will continue to make a significant investment in advanced imaging microscopes, which Vision Core investigators will gain free access to through the Yale Vision Core. Second, a Support Scientist, Dr. Stacy Wilson, who is an expert in optics and digital imaging techniques, will provide technical support in the proper use of the microscopes and digital imaging. Third, the Core module will train Vision Core scientists (students, postdocs) in appropriate microscopy techniques and advanced digital image analysis. We anticipate that the Imaging Core module will play an important role in the research success of vision investigators at Yale University.