Spring 2010 Gustavus Quarterly

Alex Messenger ’10
22
THE GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY
continued from previous page
A Zeiss training specialist (foreground)
demonstrates the capabilities of the
College’s new Zeiss LSM 700 confocal
microscope for (from left) biology
professor John Lammert, sophomore
student Jeff Rossow, biology professor
Mike Ferragamo, biology professor Colleen
Jacks ’79, and biochem professor Jeff
Dahlseid ’90.
HHMI grant supports purchase of confocal microscope
Students and faculty working in the natural sciences at Gustavus have a new high-end scientific research
tool—a Zeiss LSM 700 laser (scanning) confocal microscope. The fully equipped, entirely
motorized confocal instrument features four lasers, three detectors, and superior Zeiss optics.
Gustavus is currently the only liberal arts college in the nation to own this model Zeiss confocal microscope,
which was first released in the U.S. in January 2009.
Confocal microscopy permits innovative approaches to unraveling the underlying mechanisms of
cell communication, gene expression,
and cellular development.
Microscopes like the
College’s Zeiss allow scientists
to create clean three-dimensional
images of a sample through a
controllable focal plane and
elimination of out-of-focus
glare.
“The confocal provides
Gustavus students and faculty
with a state-of-the-art resource
for study and research at the
cellular and molecular level,”
says Associate Professor of
Biology and Chemistry Jeff
Dahlseid ’90. “The instrument
can determine the location and
shape of three-dimensional cellular
structures and quantify dynamic
processes in living cells
with remarkable spatial and
temporal resolution. It opens
up entirely new avenues for research
projects, both collaborative
and interdisciplinary, and is
already being put to good use
by students and faculty.”
Valued at approximately
$250,000, the microscope was
purchased in part with funds the
College obtained through a $1 million Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant announced
in April 2008, one of only 48 awarded to U.S. undergraduate institutions at that time. It
will eventually serve as the centerpiece of a new visualization and imaging center in the Alfred Nobel
Hall of Science.
The largest private funder of science education in the United States, HHMI’s grant program
works to enhance science education for students at all levels. It has invested more than $1.2 billion
in grants to reinvigorate life science education at both research universities and liberal arts colleges
and to engage the nation’s leading scientists in teaching. The award to Gustavus supports a variety
of programs that seek to transform the first-year student experience in the science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM) disciplines—particularly through collaboration between the
Departments of Biology and Chemistry. ■
Matt Thomas ’00 returned to Gustavus as media relations manager in 2007. Stacia Vogel,
assistant vice president for marketing and communication, and Steve Waldhauser ’70, director
of editorial services, contributed to this article.