Core Facilities “<strong>IMB</strong> Core Facilities give our groups fast and easy access to state-of-the-art technology and expert advice.”
I M B a n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 1 2 Table of Contents Foreword Research Groups Core Facilities Facts and Figures 25 Bernhard Korn Director of Core Facilities and Technology Overview The Core Facilities at <strong>IMB</strong> are set up to allow <strong>IMB</strong> Research Groups smooth, fast and economical access to up-to-date technologies that are supported by in-depth expertise from dedicated service personnel. The remit of the Core Facilities is completely driven by demand for in-house research facilities, and they ensure a short turn-around time from initial project discussions to sample supply and the return of data. Service groups are only set up if the highest quality of service and a high demand for the facility can be foreseen. Therefore, we make sure that investments are made in the most efficient way. All Core Facility personnel are dedicated to both service and training. The Core Facilities provide equal access to all <strong>IMB</strong> members on a first-comefirst-serve basis and access is provided as a service or through collaborative research projects. The set-up of strong in-house Core Facilities allows all <strong>IMB</strong> groups to undertake ambitious projects with high-throughput designs. Project support is provided from the initial phase of grant applications (e.g. feasibility studies, consulting, application support), via experimental design and experimentation, to data management and analysis. Core Facility support is provided in various ways. Full service is given for next-generation-sequencing (NGS), microarray analysis and cell sorting. In these cases <strong>IMB</strong> members provide samples, which are quality controlled by the Core Facilities, and a complete service is then provided up to the point of data production. Basic data analysis is also conducted to ensure good quality and accuracy of the information being returned to the in-house user. To be able to offer this type of cutting-edge service, we have entered into cooperations with other academic institutes such as EMBL and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Publicprivate partnerships have also been initiated such as the establishment of <strong>IMB</strong> as a reference centre for high-<strong>resolution</strong> microscopy with Leica microsystems. A very strong part of the Core Facilities covers informatics of various flavours, from basic front-end IT support, server administration and intranet provision, to bioinformatics, statistics and ondemand programming. Whenever possible, <strong>IMB</strong> outsources services as long as sufficient quality and a fast turnaround time can be guaranteed by external providers. However, for strategic reasons we keep certain technologies and their development in-house so that we can provide sufficient capacity, training and education to <strong>IMB</strong> students and personnel in these areas. We also provide assisted access to equipment and facilities within <strong>IMB</strong>. In this respect the Cytometry, Genomics, Histology and Microscopy Core Facilities provide specific training and assistance in the use of their equipment. Furthermore, Core Facility personnel provide training courses for the use of any other Core Equipment that is available at <strong>IMB</strong>, e.g. plate readers, ultra centrifuges etc. Finally, the Core Facilities provide a wide range of additional support, encompassing a media kitchen, animal care, management of in-house enzymes and clone/vector/cell line storage.
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