Instrument development &fabrication for vision research

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this proposal is to enhance the research capabilities and collaborative efforts of the vision researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center. State-of-the-art vision research often requires the custom fabrication of mechanical instruments to support the research. Support is requested for a single module to renovate and support the machine shop in the Harkness Eye Institute at Columbia University, to be shared primarily between the Department of Ophthalmology and the Mahoney Center for Brain and Behavior. The module will have 10 users, 7 of whom have NEI-funded RO1 grants, and 3 of whom perform research in the area of visual systems neuroscience on grants funded by the NIMH. All of the investigators are also mentors on an NEI-funded training grant. The current systems projects include studies of the neurophysiology and psychophysics of spatial vision, visual attention, early cortical processing, visual emotional association, and visual motion; the cellular and molecular projects include studies of fluid transport across corneal epithelium, retinal axon guidance, ocular wound healing, and the impact of the lipofuscin fluorophores on retinal pigmented epithelial cell function and viability. All of these projects require the development and fabrication of devices primarily designed for a given project. A great number of these can, when perfected, be shared among a number of projects. Examples of such devices include custom-made nanoliter injection devices, recording chambers, multiple-microdrive platforms, dual recording-iontophoretic devices, illumination devices, and recording gdds. The PI has extensive experience collaborating with machinists, and several of the devices in whose development he participated have been marketed commercially. Currently the Department of Ophthalmology has a fully-equipped machine shop the machines of which are all fine old Bridgeport and Hardinge manual machines. This proposal is to upgrade the machine shop, with a computer-controlled lathe and a computer-controlled milling machine, and to support the salary of the machinist who was hired in June, 2003, using university startup funds. The availability of an in-house professionally certified machinist will significantly speed the process of design and fabrication of custom instruments. The use of computer controlled machine tools will facilitate duplication of instruments usable in multiple laboratories.