The Cell Imaging and Microscopy Shared Resource (CIM) provides cellular imaging technologies and services to enhance the programmatic research objectives of the Winship Cancer Institute (Winship). It is centrally located in Winship and houses state-of-the-art technologies including point scanning confocal, live cell confocal, spectral confocal imaging, epifluorescence microscopy, and image processing and analysis. CIM services have supported numerous Winship programmatic initiatives that include cancer cell biology, biomarker development, cancer nanotechnology, tumor diagnostics, drug delivery, and molecular pharmacology. These interactions have resulted in high Impact publications, team science grants, and inter- and intra-programmatic collaborations. Winship members comprise 88% of total CIM usage, with overall usage increasing from 1533 hours in calendar year 2008 to 4332 hours in 2010. CIM personnel provide consultation on experimental setup, execution, and analysis to ensure optimal image acquisition and data analysis. This includes comprehensive training sessions and dally user assistance to ensure that technologies are properly utilized. Alt user image data are archived nightly onto NAS enterprise level RAID protected servers to provide secure data backup. The CIM is a Winship shared resource, and Winship is responsible for oversight, operations, budget, compliance, user fee collection, and employee relations. The CIM Director makes all day-to-day decisions with input from CIM personnel, users, an internal advisory board, and executive oversight committee. The primary objectives of the CIM over the next two years are to expand small animal fluorescence imaging resources, implement a new assay development service, and continue to expand our IT infrastructure. These new technologies along with existing CIM services will enhance Winship's basic, translational, and clinical initiatives of Winship.
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