4th Annual Conference
2014

Abstract: In the last two decades the evolution of the scientific method has moved traditional disciplines forward and has led to the development of multiple completely new fields. In each case the unifying change has been the continued expansive integration of technologies on all fronts, including molecular, biochemical and computer based. Few fields of endeavor have embraced these changes as much as microscopy. At all levels in the last 20 years there has a massive and continuous expansion of the capabilities of the microscope on all fronts. The current research microscope represents the integration of modern optics, robotics, computing, probes and cameras. This has moved the device from a principally descriptive tool to a primary research tool capable of addressing questions at all levels of resolution to the whole animal.. The impact of modern imaging on our understanding of disease and the potential for therapeutics has been has been extreme, particularly as we continue to expand scientific progress towards discovery rather than reductionist approaches. Equivalently there has been an explosion in the probes suitable for use in the modern microscope such that single molecules can be chased in 3 dimensional space and the local environment assessed in real time. In fact nowadays we can see molecules as they are released by individual cells, we can watch the molecules interact and we can see what the downstream sequelae of molecular function is in real time. This seminar will discuss these technologies and their development as we attempt to develop methods to specifically develop assays and unravel molecular fates within cystic fibrosis.