Biological Imaging Facility

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – SHARED RESOURCE: BIOLOGICAL IMAGING FACILITY The long-term objective of the Biological Imaging Facility (BIF) is to provide FCCC members the capabilities to obtain the highest quality images to facilitate their research at the subcellular and cellular levels, as well as in tissues and organs. The BIF is Co-Directed by Bojana Gligorijevic, PhD (CSM) and Neil Johnson, PhD (NDC) and staffed by Facility Managers, Andrey Efimov, PhD and Yirong Yang, PhD. The Specific Aims are to 1) Leverage new imaging capabilities to enhance the research of FCCC members; and 2) Train users on existing and new equipment and expand userbase. To achieve these goals, capital institutional investment in 2022 allowed expansion of small animal imaging equipment, including the purchase of an IVIS Lumina III In Vivo Imaging System that provides both fluorescent and bioluminescent monitoring, a Vega Pre-Clinical Ultrasound Imaging System, and a 3T preclinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with dry magnet technology that can be used for mouse and rat imaging. In 2019, a multi-photon confocal system was purchased by S10 Shared Instrumentation Grant, and in 2023, Dr. Gligorijevic contributed to a successful S10 Shared Instrumentation Grant Application to purchase a light-sheet super-resolution microscope. The total investment in new instrumentation since 2019 totaled $1.8M ($1.2M since 2022). In 2022, the BIF hired new Small Animal Imaging manager, Dr. Yirong Yang, who has extensive expertise in MRI. BIF performance is monitored by a Facility Advisory Committee to provide feedback and suggestions to improve the operations of the BIF. Beyond one-on- one training, the BIF has and will continue to provide Center-wide seminars to engage new and existing users about its capabilities. BIF staff attend faculty seminars to familiarize themselves with various PI’s research projects. The Co-Directors and Facility Manager are available for consultation and make suggestions to PI’s with the goal of enhancing their project. Finally, facility staff will enroll in imaging courses, attend national meetings to keep up to date with technologies. The BIF was used by 25 FCCC members for the 12 months ending 10/31/23, and 51 FCCC members from all three Research Programs from 2019-2023 (October). The technical and scientific support provided by the BIF has contributed to 61 peer-reviewed publications and 45 new grant awards since 2019.