Federal Grant Award Summary

Northwestern University's Sponsored Research Division received $436,640 in project grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director under the Research Infrastructure Programs (CFDA 93.351) to acquire an AXL Cleared Tissue Light Sheet (AXL CTLS) microscope system from 3i. The award, issued on May 15, 2026 with a completion date of May 14, 2027, supports the replacement of the Center for Advanced Microscopy's end-of-life Miltenyi Ultramicroscope II system, which had reached manufacturer unsupport status and experienced four months of downtime for repairs in the preceding year. The new light sheet microscopy instrument will provide enhanced optical resolution, faster imaging speeds, and expanded sample compatibility compared to the existing platform.

This infrastructure acquisition directly supports the research activities of approximately 15 NIH-funded investigators managing 26 active NIH research projects across multiple scientific disciplines, including surgery, infectious diseases, microbiology, immunology, cardiovascular biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, and nephrology. As the only microscopy-based core facility on Northwestern University's Chicago campus, the Center for Advanced Microscopy serves approximately 750 annual users from 300 laboratories, making the replacement system critical to sustaining research productivity and enabling advanced imaging capabilities that advance the institution's biomedical research enterprise.