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Research

Advanced Molecular Imaging Service (AMIS)

AMIS was established in 2016 following a strategic investment of over £1.3m and draws together over 45 pieces of state-of-the-art advanced molecular imaging equipment.

This umbrella service operates within dedicated facilities across the institutes of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, namely the Barts Cancer Institute (BCI), Blizard Institute and William Harvey Research Institute (WHRI), the School of Engineering and Material Sciences and the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Over 16 highly experienced core facility staff support a broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary users ensuring cutting-edge imaging capacity at one of the leading research centres in the UK and the world.

Barts Cancer Institute

Location: Charterhouse Square campus

BCI Microscopy Facility

Our extensive facilities for molecular imaging and analysis include three separate departments. Microscopy includes 3 confocal microscopes, time-lapse, laser capture and slide scanning. Flow cytometry houses 2xFACS, 4 analysers, CytOF Mass Cytometry and an Imagestream II.

Contact

Linda Hammond
email: l.hammond@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 5132

Preclinical Imaging Facility

Our Preclinical Imaging Facility provides a full range of in vivo small animal imaging equipment.  This includes molecular imaging with PET/CT and SPECT/CT fully supported with radiochemistry facilities.  Both instruments can also be used for standalone CT imaging.  The BCI/WHRI IVIS Lumina III instrument provides optical imaging (bioluminence and fluorescence imaging) and a Vevo 2100 Ultrasound imaging instrument allows high resolution vascular imaging.  MRI imaging is also available through an NC3R's funded 1T low field instrument (Bruker ICON).

Contact

Julie Foster
email: j.m.foster@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2053

Jane Sosabowski
email: j.k.sosabowski@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 3849

FACS Facility - Imagestream and Helios/Hyperion

Flow Cytometer and Fluorescence microscope combined. Soon to be installed multi-parameter tissue imager using heavy metal conjugated antibody labeling.

Contact

Julfa Begum
email: julfa.begum@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2119

William Harvey Research Institute

Location:

MIC-LIS

The MIC-LIS facility consists of multiple confocal and brightfield microscopes suitable for both in vivo and in vitro imaging. The inverted Zeiss 800 microscope is suitable for in-vitro live cell imaging, FRAP and FRET with temperature and CO2 control. The upright Leica SP5 and SP8 confocal microscopes are designed for intravital microscopy but also suitable for fast and highly sensitive multi-colour confocal imaging of fixed preparations. The time lapse epifluorescent microscopes and multiple brightfield/epifluorescent microscopes are suitable for in vitro and intravital live cell imaging.

Contact

Mathieu-Benoit Voisin
email: m.b.voisin@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8238

Tom Nightingale
email: t.nightingale@qmul.ac.uk

LSM 880 Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope with Airyscan

This new state-of-the-art confocal microscope allows for near super-resolution imaging (140nm) with its Airyscan detector. The system is equipped with the following lasers: Diode 405nm, Multiline Argon (458nm, 488nm and 514nm), DPSS 561nm, HeNe 594nm and a HeNe 633nm. Bookings can be made via iLabs (£25/hour) following training.

Contact

Emma Duncan
email: e.j.duncan@qmul.ac.uk

Paul Chapple
email: j.p.chapple@qmul.ac.uk

Blizard Institute

Location: Whitechapel campus

Blizard Advanced Light Microscopy (BALM)

The Blizard Advanced Light Microscopy Faciltiy (BALM) provides high-tech multi-million pound advanced imaging technology and experienced staff. The BALM provides a broad range of equipment to cover most light microscopy applications and has the services to suit everyone from experienced light microscopy specialists, to people who have never touched a microscope before. We can cater for simple fluorescent microscopy to superresolution imaging. State of the art equipment allows for live cell confocal imaging at 140nm superresolution at speeds of 10fps. For deep imaging of biopsies and organotypic cultures, a Multiphoton acquisition system with excitation from 680 to 1080nm is available. Combined with the fast Airyscan and precision extended range piezo z drive, thick samples can be imaged extremely fast and accurately at increased signal to noise and at superresolution. Large specimens can be cleared and stained beforehand with our Clarity tissue clearing setup. Analysis and visualisation of 3D samples is made easy with the IMARIS analysis suite. Any Histology Samples can be scanned on our TissueFaxs Inverted Plus slidescanner which is optimal for detailed slide scans of fluorescent and histopathology samples. With a 7 line LED light engine, a wide variety of fluorophores can be easily scanned and cell populations can be analysed on the Tissuegnostics analysis software packages Strataquest, HistoQuest and Tissuequest. Our Laser Dissection Microscope allows the collection of single cell material for analysis.

Contact

Jan Soetaert
email: j.soetaert@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2406

Belen Martin-Martin
email: b.martin-martin@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2407

QMUL Phenotypic Screening Facility

The QMUL Phenotypic Screening Facility provides high-throughput and automated imaging for widefield and confocal assays in 2D and 3D, using fixed or live cell assays. We also house liquid handling robotics capable of automating cell based assays from cell seeding through to staining and stock genome wide siRNA libraries.

Contact

Luke Gammon
email: l.gammon@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2342

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences

Location: Mile End campus

Confocal Microscope Facility

Our facility at the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences houses a Leica SP5 confocal microscope equipped with a number of lasers for probe excitation between 355 nm and 633 nm. Additionally a Spectra-Physics Mai Tai HP laser with tunnable range 690nm to 1040nm is available for two photon microscopy.

Contact

Michaela Egertova
email: m.egertova@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 3317

TEM

Our facility houses the JEM-1230 Transmission Electron Microscope suitable for ultrastructure analysis of biological samples. Example application sinclude Ultrastructure analysis, Immunogold labeling, Negative staining for a range of different samples, Freeze-Fracture replication technique.

Contact

Giulia Mastroianni
email: g.mastroianni@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 5034

School of Engineering and Materials Science

Location:

Confocal and Super-resolution Microscopy Facility

Within the School of Engineering and Materials Science we have confocal, multi photon and super resolution imaging capability.
There are three confocal systems (Leica TCS SP2, Zeiss LSM 710 and Perkin Elmer Spinning Disc) providing standard confocal imaging with FRAP, FLIP and FRET analysis. The Leica system includes Multiphoton imaging capability. The Zeiss system includes a Super resolution system (ELYRA PS.1) providing super resolution techniques: SIM, TIRF and PALM, and falls under the umberella of our Institute of Bioengineering. The Zeiss system also includes an environmental chamber with temperature, CO2 and O2 control.
We also have a incubator mounted timelapse fluorescence imaging system with automated stage control (Lumascope 720).

Contact

Martin Knight
email: m.m.knight@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8868

Nanovision

Location:

Nanovision

The NanoVision Centre is an electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy facility that provides support for research across faculties at QMUL.  Capabilities of the Centre include analytical scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, focused ion beam techniques as well as atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy. Our expertise lies in cross-disciplinary approaches to solve problems in materials science, cell and structural biology, solid state physics and the earth sciences.

Contact

email: nanovision@qmul.ac.uk

Nadja Tarakina
email: n.tarakina@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8469

Giulia Mastroianni
email: g.mastroianni@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 6502

Russell Bailey
email: r.j.bailey@qmul.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8468

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