Hands-on Confocal Course September 2012

[Peter O'Toole]

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CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY

4-Day Intensive Hands-On Course

Website:
www.york.ac.uk/biology/technology-facility/imaging-cytometry/ic-courses/confocal-course/

Basics, Live-cell imaging, FRET, FRAP and Spectral Unmixing

11-14 September 2012
Technology Facility, Dept. Biology
University of York, UK

Instructors will include

Peter O'Toole, University of York
Jo Marrison, University of York
Chris Power, Carl Zeiss
and special guest lecture and practical session with Daniel Zicha (CRUK).

Tutorials and practical sessions will cover both basic and advanced
confocal microscopy. The course will enable participants to realise the
potential behind many developing confocal techniques and realise the
simplicity of applying the techniques to a broad range of sample types and
fluorescent labels. Both novice and more experienced users welcome.

Preliminary Programme
DAY AIMS
Day 1: Basics, Familiarisation, x,y,z and multicolour imaging.
Day 2: Live-cell imaging with spinning disk confocal microscopy, FRAP on
laser scanning confocal.
Day 3: Advanced Techniques covering spectral unmixing and FRET with
fluorescent proteins.
Day 4: Further advances. More samples to explore confocal limits,
introduction to MP and time for participants own samples.

Thursday evening will include a special guest speaker and course meal.

The course will utilise many different sample types ranging from cultured
monolayers to plant cells. A diverse range of fluorescent labels will also
be used, which will include various fluorescent proteins (CFP, GFP and YFP)
and classic antibody labels. Over the four days, at least five confocal
microscopes (Zeiss LSM 710/780 and 2x LSM 510 META on both an invert and
upright microscopes, Spinning Disk systems) will be utilised.

Accommodation (en-suite), breakfast and lunches will be provided for the
length of the course.  Evening meals will be provided on both Tuesday and
Thursday evenings.

Places are limited to 12 participants to permit full hands-on practice, so
please book early to avoid disappointment.
For further information, please visit the course website at:
www.york.ac.uk/biology/technology-facility/imaging-cytometry/ic-courses/confocal-course/

or contact Margaret Newton 01904 328821, [hidden email]

--
Dr Peter O'Toole
Head of Imaging and Cytometry
Technology Facility
Department of Biology (Area 15)
University of York
YORK
YO10 5DD

Tel : [phone]
Fax : [phone]
email : [hidden email]
www.york.ac.uk/biology/tf

Times Higher Education University of the Year 2010

EMAIL DISCLAIMER http://www.york.ac.uk/docs/disclaimer/email.htm

[Straatman, Kees (Dr.)]

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Dear list members,

Our centre of core facilities is looking into management and booking software. I know this item has appeared on the list several times over the years but one of the companies that caught our eye is iLab Solutions. As far as I can see, this company has never been mentioned as an option for core management software. Does somebody has experience with this company and their iLab software?

Best wishes

Kees

Dr Ir K.R. Straatman
Senior Experimental Officer
Centre for Core Biotechnology Services
University of Leicester

Fluorescence microscopy workshops 20-24 August: http://www.le.ac.uk/biochem/microscopy/workshop2012.html
 

[mcammer]

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The cores here are trying to use Labvantage's LIMS system but it seems to be very difficult to deploy and inflexible in its application.  As a user, I thought it was ok but there has been a lot of push back from a majority of users and managers who have to operate the back end, so much so that in some cases they are rolling back to the older home built systems or even tallying from paper sign-ups again.
Regards,
Michael
________________________________________________________
Michael Cammer, Assistant Research Scientist
NYU Langone Medical Center
Lab: [phone]  Cell: [phone]



-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Straatman, Kees R. (Dr.)
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 9:53 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: core management software

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Dear list members,

Our centre of core facilities is looking into management and booking software. I know this item has appeared on the list several times over the years but one of the companies that caught our eye is iLab Solutions. As far as I can see, this company has never been mentioned as an option for core management software. Does somebody has experience with this company and their iLab software?

Best wishes

Kees

Dr Ir K.R. Straatman
Senior Experimental Officer
Centre for Core Biotechnology Services
University of Leicester

Fluorescence microscopy workshops 20-24 August: http://www.le.ac.uk/biochem/microscopy/workshop2012.html
 

[Nuno Moreno]

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Dear Kees,

Ilab solution just presented their solution in our core facility management workshop. It is a comprehensive solution that goes beyond a booking system. If you want to connect directly you your ERP it is definitely a good solution. However, it does not encode your core business as some solution can do (please contact me off list for further details :) ). Also, some institutes don't like to have their data out of the internal firewalls.

All the best,
Nuno Moreno
CTO @ igc.pt
CEO @ cirklo.org




On Jul 18, 2012, at 2:52 PM, Straatman, Kees R. (Dr.) wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Dear list members,
>
> Our centre of core facilities is looking into management and booking software. I know this item has appeared on the list several times over the years but one of the companies that caught our eye is iLab Solutions. As far as I can see, this company has never been mentioned as an option for core management software. Does somebody has experience with this company and their iLab software?
>
> Best wishes
>
> Kees
>
> Dr Ir K.R. Straatman
> Senior Experimental Officer
> Centre for Core Biotechnology Services
> University of Leicester
>
> Fluorescence microscopy workshops 20-24 August: http://www.le.ac.uk/biochem/microscopy/workshop2012.html
>

[steve.woodard]

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Kees,

The IBB Core Facilities at our institute are currently using the core facility management system from iLab Solutions. We have been working with iLab Solutions for over a year and we successfully launched our system in March. We chose this particular core facility management system for several reasons:

1. A Web based solution is used to register and manage users, create and edit reservations, create and edit project requests, bill customers/labs and generate reports.
2. iLab provides reliable customer support.
3. The ability to integrate the core facility management system with our institutional financial and identity management system exists.
4. Free system updates and enhancements are available since the system is provided as software as a service (SaaS).
5. The data is secure and backed up.

The system may seem a bit pricey at first but when one factors in the time and resources that it takes to custom design, implement, deploy, support and enhance such a system, the benefits help to justify the cost.

Best wishes on your search for a system that suits your facility's needs,

Steve

----- Original Message -----

> From: "Kees R. Straatman (Dr.)" <[hidden email]>
> To: [hidden email]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 9:52:32 AM
> Subject: core management software
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Dear list members,
>
> Our centre of core facilities is looking into management and booking
> software. I know this item has appeared on the list several times
> over the years but one of the companies that caught our eye is iLab
> Solutions. As far as I can see, this company has never been
> mentioned as an option for core management software. Does somebody
> has experience with this company and their iLab software?
>
> Best wishes
>
> Kees
>
> Dr Ir K.R. Straatman
> Senior Experimental Officer
> Centre for Core Biotechnology Services
> University of Leicester
>
> Fluorescence microscopy workshops 20-24 August:
> http://www.le.ac.uk/biochem/microscopy/workshop2012.html
>  
>

--
Steven I. Woodard, M.S.
Laboratory Manager / Safety Officer
Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience
Georgia Institute of Technology
315 Ferst Drive
Atlanta GA 30332 USA
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.ibb.gatech.edu

[George McNamara]

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Hi Steve,

Why did it take 9 months to launch?

I was pretty impressed with Stratocore's solution -
http://stratocore.com -  from meeting their President at ABRF in Orlando
in March, and then follow-up emails and webinar. Has anyone compared
iLab with Stratocore?


thanks,

George


On 7/18/2012 1:02 PM, Steven I. Woodard wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Kees,
>
> The IBB Core Facilities at our institute are currently using the core facility management system from iLab Solutions. We have been working with iLab Solutions for over a year and we successfully launched our system in March. We chose this particular core facility management system for several reasons:
>
> 1. A Web based solution is used to register and manage users, create and edit reservations, create and edit project requests, bill customers/labs and generate reports.
> 2. iLab provides reliable customer support.
> 3. The ability to integrate the core facility management system with our institutional financial and identity management system exists.
> 4. Free system updates and enhancements are available since the system is provided as software as a service (SaaS).
> 5. The data is secure and backed up.
>
> The system may seem a bit pricey at first but when one factors in the time and resources that it takes to custom design, implement, deploy, support and enhance such a system, the benefits help to justify the cost.
>
> Best wishes on your search for a system that suits your facility's needs,
>
> Steve
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>    
>> From: "Kees R. Straatman (Dr.)"<[hidden email]>
>> To: [hidden email]
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 9:52:32 AM
>> Subject: core management software
>>
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> *****
>>
>> Dear list members,
>>
>> Our centre of core facilities is looking into management and booking
>> software. I know this item has appeared on the list several times
>> over the years but one of the companies that caught our eye is iLab
>> Solutions. As far as I can see, this company has never been
>> mentioned as an option for core management software. Does somebody
>> has experience with this company and their iLab software?
>>
>> Best wishes
>>
>> Kees
>>
>> Dr Ir K.R. Straatman
>> Senior Experimental Officer
>> Centre for Core Biotechnology Services
>> University of Leicester
>>
>> Fluorescence microscopy workshops 20-24 August:
>> http://www.le.ac.uk/biochem/microscopy/workshop2012.html
>>
>>
>>      
>    

[Valeria Berno-2]

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Dear all

I would like to test an autofocus system on an old inverted widefield
microscope from Zeiss. The system is already motorized for stage, Z and
filters but the ability to keep focus during time lapse or in different
well plates is really challenging...

Have anyone tried the CRISP system from ASI? This seems to be the only
system that can be integrated in old stands, but I have been asked for
money for the demo and I would like to hear some feedback from users
before investing money....

thanks in advance

Valeria

--
Valeria Berno,PhD
Microscopy Facility Manager
MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine
SCRM building
The University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh bioQuarter
5 Little France Drive
Edinburgh
EH16 4UU
Tel Office 0131 6519521




The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

[Watkins, Simon C]

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The Asi solution is indeed the only one that will work for old stands. It uses a combo of the focussing gadget and a piezo z controller which gives you more capabilities wrt to fast z control so this complements a spinning disk for example. It works well but is a big investment to throw at an old stand

Simon Watkins Ph.D
Professor and Vice Chair Cell Biology
Professor Immunology
Director Center for Biologic Imaging
University of Pittsburgh
Bsts 225 3550 terrace st
Pittsburgh PA 15261
Www.cbi.pitt.edu
412-352-2277

On Jul 19, 2012, at 8:29, "Valeria Berno" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Dear all
>
> I would like to test an autofocus system on an old inverted widefield
> microscope from Zeiss. The system is already motorized for stage, Z and
> filters but the ability to keep focus during time lapse or in different
> well plates is really challenging...
>
> Have anyone tried the CRISP system from ASI? This seems to be the only
> system that can be integrated in old stands, but I have been asked for
> money for the demo and I would like to hear some feedback from users
> before investing money....
>
> thanks in advance
>
> Valeria
>
> --
> Valeria Berno,PhD
> Microscopy Facility Manager
> MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine
> SCRM building
> The University of Edinburgh
> Edinburgh bioQuarter
> 5 Little France Drive
> Edinburgh
> EH16 4UU
> Tel Office 0131 6519521
>
>
>
>
> The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
> Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

[phil laissue]

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couple more suggestions from last UK faciilty manager's meeting:
http://www.bioimaginguk.org/index.php/Booking,_lab_admin_%26_equipment_service

[simon walker (BI)-2]

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I believe the Mad City Labs C-focus system does a similar thing.  I haven't tried it, though it may be easier (cheaper) to arrange a demo..
http://www.madcitylabs.com/cfocus.html
It raises an interesting point though - should potential purchasers ever pay for equipment demos?  I've always thought it's in the vendors interests to demo free of charge..



-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Watkins, Simon C
Sent: 19 July 2012 13:47
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Focus perfect, definite or just right....

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

The Asi solution is indeed the only one that will work for old stands. It uses a combo of the focussing gadget and a piezo z controller which gives you more capabilities wrt to fast z control so this complements a spinning disk for example. It works well but is a big investment to throw at an old stand

Simon Watkins Ph.D
Professor and Vice Chair Cell Biology
Professor Immunology
Director Center for Biologic Imaging
University of Pittsburgh
Bsts 225 3550 terrace st
Pittsburgh PA 15261
Www.cbi.pitt.edu
412-352-2277

On Jul 19, 2012, at 8:29, "Valeria Berno" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Dear all
>
> I would like to test an autofocus system on an old inverted widefield
> microscope from Zeiss. The system is already motorized for stage, Z
> and filters but the ability to keep focus during time lapse or in
> different well plates is really challenging...
>
> Have anyone tried the CRISP system from ASI? This seems to be the only
> system that can be integrated in old stands, but I have been asked for
> money for the demo and I would like to hear some feedback from users
> before investing money....
>
> thanks in advance
>
> Valeria
>
> --
> Valeria Berno,PhD
> Microscopy Facility Manager
> MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine
> SCRM building
> The University of Edinburgh
> Edinburgh bioQuarter
> 5 Little France Drive
> Edinburgh
> EH16 4UU
> Tel Office 0131 6519521
>
>
>
>
> The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
> Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

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[Gary Rondeau]

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ASI is always happy to send equipment for a serious demo at no charge.  In some
instances a dealer representatives may decide to charge for their time and travel.  
However, if the researcher wishes for demo equipment, we can provide it directly
without charge, and we can provide telephone support during business hours in
Eugene, OR, USA for installation.

[Paul Perry-2]

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Morning Gary,

The big box containing CRISP arrived a couple of hours ago and with
advice from John Wilkinson we have unpacked CRISP400/DCMS-650 to assess
how it fits to our live cell imaging system.

In our initial inspection, using a Zeiss AxioObserver, which is a newer
automated version of the AxioVert 200 for which CRISP is intended, we
found that CRISP cannot be aligned horizontally with the body towards
the front of the microscope and with serial cable pointing towards user,
as the focus knob is in the way.  In fact on an inverted microscope
fitted with incubation enclosure, CRISP can be fitted in one position
only to avoid touching focus knob and incubator enclosure.  Looking at
the microscope from the left hand side, CRISP has to be angled
approximately 25deg up from horizontal, in which case there is probably
just enough clearance between focus knob and enclosure incubator. But if
a focus motor were fitted to the right side of the microscope, the left
knob would be the only one available for the user to twiddle, and CRISP
would seriously impede access.

Assuming that some kind of extender between microscope body and DCMS-650
splitter is not an option, the solution would be to mount CRISP in a
vertical orientation so that the body either projects inside the
incubation chamber (but will then affect access to changing objectives,
and it is generally best to avoid putting equipment inside the
incubation enclosure) or vertically downwards.  Mounting vertically
downwards would entail the microscope being raised by about 95 mm to
accommodate CRISP and cable - in which case users would experience
discomfort.  So my solution would be to make a hole in the microscope
breadboard to accommodate CRISP.

Of course, we may have missed some vital component that corrects for all
this - hence thought I'd contact you before John and Nigel arrive on
Monday for setup.

...paul


Gary Rondeau wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> ASI is always happy to send equipment for a serious demo at no charge.  In some
> instances a dealer representatives may decide to charge for their time and travel.  
> However, if the researcher wishes for demo equipment, we can provide it directly
> without charge, and we can provide telephone support during business hours in
> Eugene, OR, USA for installation.
>
>  

--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.