Mount Sinai Receives NIH Grant for State-of-the-Art Microscope Capable of Seeing Real-time Cellular Activity That Was Previously Undetectable
The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Mount Sinai Microscopy Core $1.2 million for a state-of-the-art microscope with resolution capabilities that can show structures as small as viruses. The instrument will be used by research teams throughout Mount Sinai Health System and will aid researchers across System.
The grant will fund the purchase of a Leica TCS SP8 STED 3X, a super-resolution microscope, the first at Mount Sinai Health System and the second of its kind in New York City. This new microscope will allow researchers to perform fluorescence nanoscopy and the ability to see tiny cellular processes that have previously been impossible to see.
“This is the next dimension in super-resolution, allowing our researchers the ability to view real-time cellular activities through 3D multicolor visuals and will transform cellular research.,” says Deanna Benson, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Microscopy Core. “Our researchers will be able to see intracellular actions and responses that will help them to understand normal cell behaviors and to identify the onset and progression of human disease.”
The microscope will enable researchers to learn about several cellular processes, by, for example, observing a virus infecting the body, or seeing the molecular changes that occur when a tumor progresses to metastasis. The microscope’s super-resolution abilities will allow researchers to make gains in the study of viral infection, neurodegenerative disease progression, developmental brain disorders, metastasis, glaucoma, stress, and depression.
“Targeted therapies are built on a thorough understanding of molecular and cellular relationships that drive pathology. With the acquisition of this advanced piece of equipment, we can drive the development of next-generation treatments in medicine,” says Jose Javier Bravo Cordero, PhD, Assistant Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Scientific Advisor in the Microscopy Core at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The microscope is set for installation in mid-December and will be accessible to all researchers in various areas of medicine throughout the Health System.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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