Research Excellence
The National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at the University of California San Diego develops state-of-the-art 3D imaging and analysis technologies to help biomedical researchers understand biological structure and function relationships in cells and tissues in the dimensional range between 5 nm3 and 50 µm3. more
 December 2008 — NCMIR scientists along with the Salk Institute are the first to model axonal conduction to include a more realistic three-dimensional geometry of cellular microdomains. Read article |
 NCMIR collaborators demonstrate the use of fluorescent quantum dots for tracking dendritic cells and priming an immune response in vitro and in vivo. Read article |
NCMIR In The News
NCMIR's Electron Tomography Resource is Helping to Reveal the Role of Mitochondria in Cell Death
Dec. 12, 2008 — Mitochondria, often described as the powerhouses of cells, also play a key role in carrying out programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Increasingly, they are being seen as a key determinant of cellular health and a host of metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases and are even targets of viral infection. By applying NCMIR's expertise in light microscopy and electron tomography, three teams of researchers are enhancing our understanding of how mitochondria contribute to neurodegeneration, mediate apoptosis, and serve as viral replication complexes. Read article.
UC San Diego to Lead Neuroscience Information Framework
NIH awards UC San Diego $10 million contract to lead integrated information framework for world-wide neuroscience research community
Oct. 24, 2008 — The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has received a contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to enhance and maintain the Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF; http://neuinfo.org/) – a dynamic inventory of web-based neurosciences data, resources, and tools that scientists and students can access via any computer connected to the Internet An initiative of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, the NIF will advance neuroscience research by enabling discovery and access to public research data and tools worldwide through an open source, networked environment. Read Press Release.
UCSD Scientist and NCMIR Co-Investigator Shares 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Oct. 8, 2008 — UCSD Scientist Dr. Roger Tsien was awarded 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Osamu Shimomura and Martin Chalfie, for their discovery of the green fluorescent protein GFP and its development as a tool for observing otherwise invisible cellular processes. Dr. Tsien is a leader in the development of new indicator systems and their application to cell biology and has been a driving force behing the NCMIR core efforts to develop improved labeling technologies for correlative light and electron microscopy. Read article.
NCMIR Scientist Wins Microscopy Society of America’s 2008 H.H. Crowley Award
August 4, 2008 — NCMIR researcher Thomas Deerinck was awarded the 2008 Hildegard H. Crowley Award for outstanding contributions to the field of biological electron microscopy. Read article.
NCMIR Research on Display at the San Diego International Airport
June 2, 2008 — Beginning June 10th 2008, tens of thousands of visitors to the San Diego Airport will be able to see an eye-catching exhibition of scientific images generated by local life science companies and research institutions, including UCSD's National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research. The exhibit, titled "Cell Culture," features microscopic scientific visualizations that blur the line between art and science. Sponsored by BIOCOM, the world's largest regional life science association whose focus is to promote initiatives that positively influence the local research community, the exhibit features approximately twenty works ranging from computer simulations of cell microenvironments to images produced using sophisticated laser and electron microscopes. The images will be on display through the end of December 2008 and will be located behind security in the upper level of Terminal 2 between gates 21 and 33. For more information about this exhibit, check out the YouTube feature: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gN45N5iVWFM&feature=related.
