Imaging Facility
| National Cancer Institute | Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression | National Institutes of Health |
Researchers interested in fluorescence microscopy contact the Facility seeking advice or wishing to use one of the Facility's microscopes. Following this initial request, Drs. McNally and Karpova meet with the user and associated PI to discuss the research project. At this time, we provide expert consultation on the advantages and limitations of the different forms of microscopy available both in the Facility and elsewhere. We help develop an overall research strategy, help design experiments, and help solve specific experimental problems associated with the microscopy. The Facility may also provide consultation on image analysis and interpretation, or selection and purchase of microscopy hardware and image processing software.
Once the directions of the microscopy research project have been established, the user is typically trained on the microscopes of choice by Dr. Karpova. This hands-on training ordinarily requires several sessions before a user is competent to work independently, and thereafter Dr. Karpova is available for whatever questions arise during hands on usage of the instruments. Once technical problems have been solved and enough data have been collected, Drs. McNally and Karpova meet once again with the user and PI to discuss the progress of the research and future directions.