Scientific Director: Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D., Pharm.D.
Assistant Director: Jason Coleman, Ph.D.
The Microscopy Facility provides MBI investigators with centralized access to advanced light microscopy for fixed and live samples. The facility supports a range of modalities, including widefield fluorescence, confocal, multiphoton and slide-scanning microscopy for tissue sections and whole-mount preparations.
Staff assist with experimental design, sample preparation strategies and selection of appropriate imaging modalities to match specific biological questions.
The facility provides hands-on training for new users, standardized acquisition protocols and ongoing support to ensure consistent, high-quality image collection across projects. Workstations and software for image processing and quantitative analysis support 3D reconstruction, colocalization, morphometric measurements and time-lapse data analysis. The Microscopy Facility coordinates closely with other MBI cores to integrate cellular and circuit-level imaging with molecular, behavioral and physiological readouts in comprehensive studies.
Instrument and Project Consultations
With our commitment to improving productivity and data reproducibility, we have enlisted the expertise of Dr. Jason Coleman. Serving as scientific director for the Microscopy Facility, Dr. Coleman will provide training, consultation on microscopy systems, unbiased imaging, and rigorous data analysis.
Dr. Coleman received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from UF and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has over 20 years of experience in using advanced light microscopy tools in his research to investigate the visual system and in the development and use of viral vectors for gene transfer to study the nervous system.
Resources
Below you’ll find a list of available resources. Please click the links below to access their schedules and learn how to sign up for training.
stereology
Zeiss AxioImager M2
Equipped with ApoTome.2 and with Hamamatsu C10600 (ORCA-R2) camera/acquisition of fluorescence at four distinct wavelengths. Works with StereoInvestigator/Neurolucida.
high-throughput fluorescence
Keyence BZ-X800
High-throughput, automated imaging system for fluorescence, brightfield, and phase-contrast. Supports optical sectioning, stitching, live-cell time-lapse imaging, and high-content quantification with specialized lens configurations for fixed and live samples.
Zeiss Lightsheet Z1
Equipped with Life Canvas SmartBatch+ Tissue Clearing and Immunolabeling System and 4 laser lines, a mesocale imaging system and 2.5x, 5x, and 12x objectives compatible with organic solvent clearing methodologies.
inverted 2-photon/Confocal/STORM
Nikon A1R MP
Laser-scanning confocal (LSCM), multiphoton (MP), and N-STORM (super-resolution) inverted microscope for fluorescent samples. Available Tokai-Hit stage top incubator with active CO2 and temperature regulation, and passive humidity, for imaging live tissue/cells.
upright 2-photon/in vivo
Scientifica HyperScope
This system is optimized for imaging approaches that allow collection of signal emitting from deep tissues from live subjects. The microscope is equipped with the InSight X3 Dual variable+fixed IR lasers, SomnoSuite low-flow anesthesia station, and custom stages for intravital imaging.
Akoya PhenoImager HT (formerly Vectra Polaris)
High-throughput brightfield and multispectral fluorescence imaging platform supporting up to 80 continuously loaded slides. Enables up to 7-color whole-slide imaging and up to 9-color multispectral fields for spatial phenotyping and quantitative pathology.
Empower collaborative research by contributing your microscope!
This not only reduces your lab's collective costs but also fuels exciting campus research advancements. Plus, you'll still have priority scheduling for your own microscopy needs.
