> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy> Post images on
http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear Kate,
>
> I think you have raised a number of excellent suggestions here.
> Regarding your last one in particular, I feel the need to point out
> that we in the USA are WAY behind many other countries in the area of
> networking, particularly when it comes to sharing equipment. I don't
> know whether you are familiar with the Euro-BioImaging project:
>
>
http://www.eurobioimaging.eu/>
> but this is a very interesting and laudable attempt to solve exactly
> the problem you refer to in accessing uncommon equipment. Many of the
> European countries (also, I believe, Australia) have also established
> their own country-wide networks, long before the Euro-BioImaging
> network was established. These matters are discussed every year at
> the wonderful ELMI meeting (European Light Microscopy Initiative),
> which, in my opinion, is the most useful meeting out there for
> microscopy facility managers. (Also jolly good fun and held in a
> fantastic location every year - thank you ELMI meeting organisers past
> and present!) Personally, I would like to see a similar network
> established in the USA, but the sheer enormity of this task is rather
> daunting. Maybe we could first approach it on a state or regional
> level? This is certainly something worth discussing.
>
> All the best,
> Alison
>
>
> On 11/1/2017 2:00 PM, Kate Luby-Phelps wrote:
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.umn.edu_cgi-2Dbin_wa-3FA0-3Dconfocalmicroscopy&d=DwIFaQ&c=JeTkUgVztGMmhKYjxsy2rfoWYibK1YmxXez1G3oNStg&r=y3Gg5KwygGNfgoACnrKLvtQcoFinbJ43lW3fx-6okTk&m=E4i8HsilKoimSALTZ1UgskIXVL1QntXVMrJIhE7Dpdc&s=FURRfkajYc71p3ruAh01np19tBddU9Xv0hQc6C7xzQI&e=>>
>> Post images on
>>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.imgur.com&d=DwIFaQ&c=JeTkUgVztGMmhKYjxsy2rfoWYibK1YmxXez1G3oNStg&r=y3Gg5KwygGNfgoACnrKLvtQcoFinbJ43lW3fx-6okTk&m=E4i8HsilKoimSALTZ1UgskIXVL1QntXVMrJIhE7Dpdc&s=EQ9Y7WWaHhVJYiO1Yr5US_JJj00ThprUfqWDdkByJ48&e=>> and include the link in your posting.
>> *****
>>
>> 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
>