User policy

General Information

The Core is located in the Genome Sciences Building, room 1152 (GSB 1152)

The Core is managed by Dr. Nathanaël (Nat) Prunet (nprunet@unc.edu – GSB 1120)

The Core is a BSL-2 facility

Training and access

First time users are required to attend a formal training session specific to each microscope prior to use

To request training, please email nprunet@unc.edu

Training is provided by the Core Director. New users cannot be trained by other lab members

Trainees are charged a one-time training fee of $63 per hour for internal UNC CH users / $120 per hour for external users

Trainees must bring their own samples

If a user does not use the microscopes within three months of training completion, they will be required to attend training again

Reservations

Reservations are made through the following Outlook calendars:

• GSB 1152 – Workstation
• GSB 1152A (710) – Microscope room
• GSB 1152B (880) – Microscope room
• GSB 1152C – Nikon N-SIM
• GSB 1152F – Spinning disk
• GSB 1152G – 880 fast Airyscan

The calendars are self-serve, with a 10-day maximum advance scheduling policy

Reservations are limited to 3 hours per user per day during regular hours (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm)

Longer imaging sessions can be booked after hours (week nights 5pm-9am, weekends and holidays)

Users must book their own sessions. Users cannot book microscope time for fellow lab members

Most Core microscopes are heavily used. Please only book the amount of time you need so that other users can access the microscopes too

Starting June 2023, reservations will be made on iLab

Recharge fees

Microscope usage is subject to the following recharge fees:

Sessions will be charged by whichever is greater, booked time or actual used time

Imaris workstation usage is free

Updated, microscope-dependent fees will be implemented in June 2023

Cancellations

Cancellations must be made on the calendar at least 5 hours prior to the scheduled time

Late cancellations will result in the user being charged 50% of the total booked time unless

another user utilizes the canceled time

Users who cancel the last appointment of the day, less than 5 hours in advance, are required to make sure the equipment is properly shut down

No-shows will be charged 100% of booked time. Repeat no-shows will lose their microscope privileges

Microscope use

Microscopes and computer peripherals (keyboard and mouse) should not be handled with gloves

Maintain a clean environment during use

If using oil or water immersion objective, clean the objective before switching objectives

At the conclusion of your imaging session:

• Clean any oil or water immersion objective used during your session
• Return to lowest-magnification objective
• Clean the microscope stage
• If the microscope is scheduled to be used within 1 hour of the end of your session, put the lasers on standby, exit the software and log out, but leave the computer and microscope on
• If the microscope is not scheduled to be used within 1 hour of the end of your session, the microscope must be properly shut down at the end of the session
• Write down the date, your name, your PI’s name, your account number, the time you started your session and the time you finished in the logsheet

Please check the online schedule before leaving the microscopy room

Promptly report any microscope malfunctions, biohazardous spills, and other problems during your imaging session to the Core Director

Data management

Users are required to include enough time for data removal in their scheduled reservation

Users are responsible for backing up data on a medium other than the imaging workstation hard drives (i.e. portable hard drive, server, etc)

Only temporary data storage is permitted in your designated lab folder on the D (DATA) drive of the imaging workstation

Data is cleared from the hard drive quarterly. Email reminder will be sent to users to remove data

The Core is not responsible for loss of data left on the hard drive after the end of each quarter

DO NOT download or install software, music, games, etc. onto the computers. Any misuse of the computers will result in loss of access to the Core facility

Emergency contact

Immediately notify the Core Director of any problems affecting a microscope

If a problem occurs that makes the system unusable, please make a note in the logsheet and notify the next scheduled users immediately

For microscope malfunctions or other mechanical issues related to the imaging systems please contact in order of priority:

1. Core Director, Dr. Nat Prunet: GSB 1120, nprunet@unc.edu; (919) 962-4398
2. Local Zeiss representaQve: Garrick Koermer: garrick.koermer@zeiss.com; (919) 491-2761
3. Zeiss hotline: (800) 509-3905 opQon 3; 10am-6pm EST

Happy imaging!