Administration and Policies
The Core director, co-directors and staff meet regularly to discuss issues involving equipment performance and necessary upgrades, as well as new equipment purchases, space requirements and standardization of policies following the recent merger of the two sites.
Policies and Work Flow
The two sites are available to all MD Anderson users. Established and new users of the Shared Resource sign up via a SharePoint websites to reserve time for their experiments. Appointments for instrument use are available to all users on a first come-first served basis. New users discuss the specifics of their experiments with Core facility personnel prior to planning their experiments. Users perform fluorescent labeling for flow cytometry, cell sorting and microscopy. Core personnel perform cell imaging, flow cytometric analyses and cell sorting for users, assist with acquisition setup and/or provide training and troubleshooting assistance according to the skill levels of the individual users. Less experienced users and those starting to use new assays may need help with optimizing staining procedures and this is also provided by Core facility personnel. Data analysis is commonly done jointly between Core facility personnel and users. Training is available for more complex, time-consuming analysis. Some experienced users of the confocal microscopy and flow cytometric technology and sorting, conduct experiments late at night and on weekends, which serves to expand the capacity of the facility.
Training
Facility personnel continuously provide training for users in a one-on-one setting. Users are trained in the principles of fluorescence, flow cytometry and microscopy as well as acquisition and analysis of flow cytometry or microscopy data on an individual basis.
Data Storage and Analysis
Currently, the facility stores data for a limited period and requires the users to be responsible for storage and backup of their own data. We plan in the upcoming grant period to create a network-based system whereby data is backed up to a server for a longer period of time, and then archived so that data can be made available for multiple years after acquisition. Workstations for post acquisition analysis are established in the facility for independent client access. Flow cytometry software available includes Kaluza, CellQuestPro, FlowJo, Diva, Winlist, ModFit, FCS Express and WinMDI. Microscopy and image processing software includes FluoView, SlideBook, SimplePCI, Photoshop, ImageJ and Image Pro..
Biosafety
Unfixed human cells are handled according to guidelines established by the ISAC (International Society of Analytical Cytology) biohazard recommendations. Dr. Eric Wieder, the former shared resource co-director, served on the ISAC Biosafety committee from 1998-2000 and participated in the establishment of these guidelines. Universal precautions are observed, and each sorter that handles unfixed human cells is equipped with containment equipment and negative airflow to a HEPA filter to protect the operator from potential aerosol exposure. The North Campus facility will soon have a Beckman Coulter MoFlo Astrios cell sorter that is housed in a BLII containment hood, increasing the safety of sorting unfixed cells.
Chargeback System
Records of instrument hours are generated from the SharePoint calendars both sites utilize. Hours are tabulated at the end of each month and submitted for payment. MD Anderson users are required to provide in internal account number, which is debited within 60 days for each month’s use. Outside users are billed at a 50% higher rate, and are invoiced monthly. The SharePoint system is being developed to produce auto-invoices to provide users with detailed accounting of their previous month’s use.