ICBR Cytometry Acquires CTAC

In an exciting development for the University of Florida research community, the Cytometry Core at the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, or ICBR, is acquiring the McKnight Brain Institute’s Cell & Tissue Analysis Core, or CTAC. After several fruitful discussions, ICBR and MBI leadership recognized an opportunity to provide even more services to drive research. Directed by the UF Office of Research, the acquisition will provide greater access to instrumentation and services, while making research approaches even more convenient. The transition is underway and expected to take several months.

Built under the direction and tireless efforts of Ed Scott, Ph.D., a Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and Doug Smith, CTAC manager, the MBI’s CTAC has grown from a small imaging start-up to a widely reputable core offering unique services for UF researchers. Starting immediately, billing and administrative responsibilities will be transferred to ICBR’s business services team, while Doug will continue to serve as CTAC’s manager.

This transition represents the next evolution for CTAC, as it will soon offer online calendar scheduling and additional services through its integration with ICBR Cytometry.

Likewise, ICBR users will also benefit from the merger, with access to: additional imaging equipment, an additional live cell imaging system, additional animal in vivo imaging equipment, self-service usage for training requests, and a self-service histology lab complete with cryostats and microtomes for frozen and paraffin embedded tissue sectioning.

CTAC will remain in the MBI (Imaging Suite in LG-164, and Histology Resource Lab in L3-192), located in close proximity to ICBR Cytometry’s secondary lab in the MBI (L3-160).

Some of the instruments that will now be available through ICBR include:

• Nikon A1RMP Multiphoton / Confocal / Super-Res Imaging System featuring multiphoton imaging with a tunable IR laser, standard or spectral confocal imaging, and STORM mode super resolution.
• Olympus IX81-DSU Spinning Disc Confocal Microscope with 5 fluorescent filter bands.
• Nikon Ti-E Inverted “Live Cell” Microscope featuring a stage-top Tokai-Hit Incubation Chamber and a motorized stage for time-lapse experiments and image-stitching.
• Olympus IX70 Inverted Fluorescent / Brightfield Microscope with mono and color camera modes.
• Leica DM2500 Upright Fluorescent / Brightfield Microscope with a monochrome camera.
• Zeiss Axioplan 2 Upright Fluorescent / Brightfield Microscope with mono and color camera modes.
• Leica MZ 12.5 Stereo (Dissecting) Microscope equipped with a color camera.
• Perkin Elmer IVIS Spectrum In-Vivo Imaging System for fluorescence and chemiluminescence (Luciferase).

NOTE: CTAC users that are not currently registered with Agilent CrossLab (iLab) will be transitioned to the billing/self-service scheduling software in the coming months. For more information on how to register, click here.

Please keep an eye on this page as it will be updated regularly.

Thank you,

ICBR and CTAC

Important Links:

CTAC Resources  |  CTAC Costs  |  CTAC Grant Info  |  CTAC Policies