About

Our goal is to facilitate UT MD Anderson research by providing cutting-edge optical and electron microscopy resources and expertise in fluorescence imaging to spatially and dynamically assess cells, tissues and their requisite contents across scales. 

Electron Microscopy

• Scanning electron microscope
• Transmission electron microscope

Super-Resolution Structured Illumination Microscopy

• Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) for 3D super-resolution subcellular imaging of fixed cells
• Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) super-resolution imaging proximal to the coverglass/cell surface to visualize live cell membrane receptor-ligand interactions, cellular adhesion, endo and exocytosis, etc.

Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy

• Optical sectioning
• Z-stacking and 3D rendering
• Dynamic live cell imaging with resonant scanner
• Large area tile scanning and stitching 
• UVA laser microirradiation for DNA damage repair
• Airyscan high sensitivity and high-resolution detector imaging
• Reflectance mode
• Multiwell and 96-well plate imaging
• Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to discern protein diffusion rates
• Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to determine protein proximity

Multiphoton and Intravital Imaging Microscopy

• Multispectral 2-photon imaging of thick sections and intact organs, and in vivo processes
• Deep volumetric imaging in XY and Z and 3D rendering
• Intravital imaging in live animals
• Second harmonic generation (SHG) to visualize collagen and other non-centrosymmetric structural components

Lightsheet Microscopy 

• Rapid volumetric and multispectral imaging of cleared whole organs, tissues and embryos
• Imaging of endogenous fluorescence reporters, dyes or stained samples
• Meso-scale imaging of very large samples (e.g., whole rat brain and tumors)

Widefield Microscopy

• Widefield fluorescence imaging of fixed and live cells

Imaris Data Analysis & Visualization 

• High-end 3/4D image visualization and analysis 
• Segmentation and AI-driven adaptive thresholding with feature identification (spots, cells, nuclei, cytoplasm, cell membranes, neuronal dendrites, etc.) 
• Hundreds of morphological measurements 
• Colocalization 
• 3-D video design with rotations, fly-through, zooming and time-lapse visualization 
• Spatiotemporal tracking 
• Compatible with most existing microscope brands and image formats 

Immunofluorescence Staining and Other Optical Microscopy Services

We also provide vibratome sectioning and tissue preparative wet lab services, including tissue clearing and custom thick tissue and whole organ immunofluorescence staining services. Further, the core provides instrument training, assisted/independent microscope use, as well as assistance in project design, protocols, instrument operation and data analysis as well as collaborations with researchers.