Re: Janelia conference for imaging cores - some pointers

Posted by Craig Brideau on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Janelia-conference-for-imaging-cores-some-pointers-tp7587488p7587510.html

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I really liked Leong's suggestion of a paper regarding core facility
staffing and maintenance requirements. It would be very helpful to have an
'official best practices' document to refer to when trying to argue for
more resources for a core facility. I think as Kate says, if you put enough
people with various pieces of the puzzle into a room together you should be
able to piece together the whole picture for a technical standards
document/paper.

Craig

On Wed, Nov 1, 2017 at 12:00 PM, Kate Luby-Phelps <
[hidden email]> wrote:

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>
> I had not really thought much about networking with other core facilities
> until I saw the announcement of the conference. For me, the confocal
> listserv essentially fills this niche as we get to pick each others’
> brains. However, in thinking about it more, it seems to me there are
> several ways in which a formal networking effort might be helpful: 1) Since
> all cores large and small will share some of the same challenges, perhaps
> identification of these areas and formation of focused subnetworks or
> topical working groups could be useful. For example, I have made some stabs
> at solving the need for deconvolution of large volumes from slide scanners
> and tiled confocal z stacks but have not had the time or the resources to
> pursue this to an endpoint. If others are in the same boat, perhaps we each
> have different pieces of the puzzle and sharing them could speed up the
> process of eliminating what doesn’t work or at least defining what the
> roadblocks are and then having group members take on well-defined,
> manageable tasks to try to move things forward for everyone. As already
> mentioned, another example of a challenge we all face is finding money to
> replace aging instrumentation and to acquire cutting edge technology. Here
> a network for mentoring people who want to apply for S10 grants could be
> helpful. A third possibility is a network that could serve as a consortium
> for sharing of resources. For software, this is not too difficult, as
> witnessed by the success of ImageJ/FiJi and CellProfiler. Would it be
> possible to facilitate access to instrumentation as well? For example, if I
> have an occasional need for STED but do not own one and do not have a large
> enough user group to apply for an S10, can I locate a facility that has it
> and somehow arrange to have my sample viewed? I realize this idea raises
> all kinds of logistical issues, including recharge costs, travel costs,
> shipping of samples, etc., but perhaps its feasibility is worth discussing.
>
> A conference that attempts to promote and formalize these types of
> interactions would be worth attending.
>
> Kate Luby-Phelps
> Director, Live Cell Imaging Facility and Electron Microscopy Core Facility
> UT Southwestern Medical Center
> Dallas, TX
>