Research Support

The Department of Anatomy and Physiology has research strength in four areas:

The department has a fundamental role in acquiring new knowledge to further our understanding of animal and human physiology and pathophysiology. To maximize our resources and foster collaborative interactions, we have established four research focus groups. They are Cardiovascular and Pulmonary physiology, Immunophysiology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology. In most cases, faculty have research interests that fall under more than one group.     Research programs in these groups investigate their respective topics through integrating studies at the isolated tissue or cellular level to whole organ or animal function. Programmatic strengths of these groups include an actively shared system of well-equipped laboratories and excellent support personnel, mutually supportive technical and conceptual expertise, and interrelated but diverse extramural funding sources.

Department Common-Use Laboratories

     The Department of Anatomy and Physiology supports several common use laboratories:  The Cell Biology Facility, the Image Analysis Facility, and the Plastination Laboratory.  All house state-of-the-art research and teaching equipment.

| Cell/Molecular Biology Facility | Image Analysis Facility | Plastination Laboratory | Center for Epithelial Research |

Center for Epithelial Research
Supervisor Dr. Daniel Marcus

Common-use equipment and facilities purchased and supported by the KSU COBRE grant include:

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Image Analysis Facility
Supervisor Dr. Mark Weiss

The image analysis facility houses a Leica DMRD microscope with brightfield, darkfield, phase and epifluorescence capabilities and three-axis stage encoding. The microscope is setup for modern immunofluorescence work and has an extensive list of fluorescence filter cubes for multiple labeling applications. The microscope has a camera system with two 35mm camera backs and an Optronics DEI 870 color camera. The Optronics camera is used for electronically capturing images for documentation or for analysis using the R&M Biometrics Bioquant True Color Windows image analysis system. The image analysis software has stereology and three-dimensional reconstruction capabilities built-in.

In addition, the image analysis facility houses a computer workstation with attached scanner and one of the two departmental color laser printers.

Email Dr. Mark Weiss for more information about using the Image Analysis Facility

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Plastination Laboratory
Facility supervisor Dr. Judy Klimek

This Facility was established to assist faculty in developing anatomical models/specimens for our teaching programs.  Plastinated specimens provide an ideal complement to dissection specimens, in that dissections that are difficult or time-consuming for students to accomplish can be produced once, and preserved through plastination as demonstration specimens.

Plastination is a patented process wherein formalin-fixed or fresh tissues are impregnated with liquid polymer (silicone, epoxy or polyester) and are then cured to achieve a hardened specimen.  Specimens produced by plastination can be stored at room temperature in a dry, odorless state for an indefinite period of time.  Such specimens are ideal for display and educational purposes and provide an aesthetic alternative to specimens stored in formalin.

E-mail Dr. Judy Klimek for more information about using the Plastination Laboratory




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