Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility

The Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility (FCCICF) was established in 1982 with the goal of providing the large community of investigators at MD Anderson with access to state-of-the-art single cell analysis technology. The Core has expanded the number of technologies offered and in use by cancer center members. The FCCICF includes two separate labs at the north and south campus.

The South Campus Flow Cytometry & Cell Sorting Core Laboratory (SCFC) was established in 2000. In 2008, The SCFC was awarded CCSG support to provide sufficient capacity to support the institution's investigators. 

Both the North and South Campus facilities are open to the entire MD Anderson research community. 

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 site 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 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 may be done jointly between Core personnel and users. Training is available for 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 with 24/7 authorized badge access.

Core Grant Citation

This facility is partially funded by NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30CA16672. Publications must cite the grant in the acknowledgment section if publications use data generated or cells sorted by the Core facility.