Confocal microscope upgrade for live cell imaging
Name of applicant
Rikke Louise Meyer
Institution
Aarhus University
Amount
DKK 432,898
Year
2020
Type of grant
Research Infrastructure
Summary
Every year millions of patients receive life-saving medical implants. But for some patients, this event marks the beginning of a life-threatening infection. Bacteria form biofilms on and near the implant, enabling them to tolerate antibiotics and evade attacks by immune cells. The implant offers a site for the bacteria to attach and form biofilms. But it also triggers immune responses that can be detrimental to fighting infections in the local environment. We will study the 3-way interaction between implants, bacteria, and immune cells in an effort to understand the basic biology that leads to implant-associated infections. The grant from the Carlsberg Foundation will fund an upgrade of our confocal laser scanning microscope to enable live-cell imaging of immune cells and bacteria.