In 2023 and 2024 developments continued within the ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´â€™s eight facilities that underpin the ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´â€™s research and also support commercial companies on the ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ Campus and beyond.
The Imaging, Flow Cytometry and Genomics facilities are spotlighted here to illustrate how they continue to follow leading innovations in their fields.
In addition to advancing research through their technical capabilities, several of the facility teams provide unparalleled training tailored to the needs of the external research community in the UK and internationally. In this way they strengthen the skills of researchers and technical professionals across academic and commercial life science.
Providing the whole package in Genomics
BBSRC investment in the Genomics facility in 2023 and 2024 allows the team to provide ‘the whole package’ for ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ teams and companies. The expanded library preparation services and new equipment mean Facility head, Megan Hamilton, and her team are now able to support more projects with comprehensive sample-to-sequence pipelines.
The facility has upgraded its sequencing platform to the AVITI. As the first UK core facility to install this platform, the Genomics facility can now deliver faster turnaround times and higher throughput sequencing. With enhanced depth and data quality, it supports a broad range of applications, from small genome sequencing to high-throughput RNA sequencing.
The team supports projects by enabling in-depth analysis of gene expression and methylation patterns. The facility’s capabilities allow researchers to generate high-quality sequencing data, providing detailed insights at the single-cell level for immune cell profiling and differential gene expression in C. elegans.
This investment strengthens in-house sequencing capabilities and provides a complete sequencing workflow for internal and external research projects, including drug discovery and antibody development.
At the forefront of Flow Cytometry
The Flow Cytometry facility has expanded its capabilities with the addition of a spectral and imaging BD FACSÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ S8 Spectral Sorter, funded through a BBSRC Alert grant. This upgrade enables researchers to sort cells using cell imaging, allowing researchers to identify and obtain cell populations that could not previously be isolated. The new capabilities allow direct visualisation of cells which can then be sorted based on spatial and morphological features, adding an additional layer of data to experiments.
These enhancements support a range of research applications, including the Rayon lab’s fused cell experiments and the Houseley lab’s work on yeast ageing, where imaging is used to study budding scars as markers of replicative age.
The facility has also installed a Sony ID7000 spectral analyser, featuring seven lasers and allowing detection of over 50 parameters per cell. This significantly increases the amount of biological information extracted from each sample, reducing the need for multiple experiments. ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ers can now build more complex panels, improving the resolution of immune profiling and cell state characterisation.
Since 2024, with support from Innovate UK, the facility has been collaborating with ChromaTwist on a project testing novel fluorescent dyes designed for extended spectral detection. These new dyes, coupled with an additional laser line, expand the number of detectable colours, enhancing multicolour flow cytometry and enabling deeper analysis across diverse cell populations. This external partnership is just one example of the sharing of expertise by the facility which also includes events, training and publications.
Strengthening Imaging infrastructure
Continued strategic investment from BBSRC has allowed the ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´â€™s Imaging facility to expand its capabilities. One area of focus has been provision of new sample preparation tools for electron microscopy (EM), including a high-pressure freezer, freeze substitution unit, ultramicrotome and critical point drier.
These have significantly enhanced the facility’s EM services by providing a new volumetric EM method called serial array tomography along with optimal sample preservation and enhanced ease of use.
Additionally, a new Leica Thunder light microscope has been integrated into the EM suite to enable a full correlative imaging workflow, where samples can be imaged using fluorescence microscopy and then rapidly transferred into the high-pressure freezer in preparation for EM.
The facility has also replaced its high content imaging platform with a Molecular Devices HT.ai and acquired a new Sartorius Incucyte for long term live cell imaging experiments.
These systems are supporting a number of ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ projects across all research programmes but are also highly sought after by commercial users. Expanding the facility’s range of services in ways that benefit both the ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ and the regional research community helps maximise the benefit of the investment and promotes regional growth.