W.M. Keck Foundation grants $1M for biomedical research

Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute has secured a $1 million grant to develop microscopy technology to advance biomedical research.

A multi-institutional team of scientists received the W.M. Keck Foundation grant to develop a correlative microscopy technique that integrates light and transmission electron microscopy into one instrument for biological specimen analysis. The work will be conducted at the OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine, which uses advanced technologies to study the functions of molecules in living systems.

The research focuses on developing applications for FEI Co.’s Tecnai with iCorr microscope, the flagship project of the newly formed OHSU-FEI Living Laboratory for Cell Biology. The technique should help reveal how molecules are organized and disrupted by genetic mutations, and provide data for developing effective and less toxic treatments for patients.

The two-year project involves researchers from OHSU as well as FEI; the University of California, Berkeley; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Portland State University; Utrecht University and QVQ BV, based on the university’s campus and performing antibody imaging research.

In 2006, the W.M. Keck Foundation awarded OHSU a $1.75 million grant to purchase imaging equipment for its research center.