Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility Home
The Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging (FCCI) Core Facility was established in 1982 with the goal of providing the large community of investigators at MD Anderson with access to state-of-the-art cell analysis technology. The Core has expanded the number of technologies offered and in use by cancer center members. The FCCI Core now includes two separate sites: the North Campus and South Campus facilities.
The institutional needs for flow cytometry services were carefully evaluated and a decision was made to transition the operation of the CCIR FACS facility to an institutional core to provide the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core with the additional capacity needed to support the institution’s investigators. Now, both the North Campus and South Campus facilities are open to the entire MD Anderson research community. Currently, the combined facilities support over 169 institutional investigators including members of 19 CCSG programs as well as a small number of external users. Since 2002, 431 peer-reviewed papers have been published that utilized the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility.
Getting Started
Both sites are available to all users. Established and new users of the shared resource sign up for instrument time via a SharePoint Website 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 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 in their staining procedures and this can also be 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 and sorting instrumentation may use the equipment at night and on weekends.
Education
Reference books and protocols are available on site, many of which have been developed and/or tested in the facility. A hard copy of Current Protocols in Cytometry is also available on site. Many commonly used protocols are available on-line at the Department of Molecular Hematology and Therapy Web site. We are a service laboratory and happy to consult and advise as needed.
Core Grant Citation
This facility is funded by NCI # CA16672. Publications should cite the Core grant in the acknowledgment section, if publications use data generated by the Core facility. Two copies of the publication acknowledging the Core grant should also be submitted to the facility at 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 81, Houston, TX, 77030.