MetaSystems VSlide has arrived!
The new slide scanner has been installed and is now ready for use. It has a
slide feeder, which handles up to 80 slides using a robotic arm.
Special slide
trays have been purchased for extra large slides to accommodate those imaging
human brain sections.
Fluorescence and brightfield imaging are both possible with
the new system (shown at right).
For further specifications.
We have moved into the new facility
All of the light and confocal microscopes are now finally operational. The
transmission electron microscope is also up and running.
There are some changes in operation such as the requirement to wear lab coats in
the Optical Microscopy Laboratory. This entire area is now a containment
facility. Lockers have been provided outside the laboratory so that people can
secure their belongings safely rather than bring them into the lab.
Take a short tour of the facility...
The
BIRU held its annual end of year research celebration on Wednesday 7 December.
The winners of the image competition were announced at the event. The confocal
microscopy and trophy winner for 2011 (shown at right) was submitted by
Elizabeth Eady from
the Department of Ophthalmology.
The image is a montage of the retina, labelled with Brn3a, isolectin B4 and DAPI.
Brn3a labels retinal ganglion (nerve cells), isolectin B4 blood vessels and DAPi
nuclei. The image was acquired on the Ophthalmology Olympus FV1000 confocal
microscope.
See all of the award winners here!
See all of the highly commended
and special award winners.
See photos from the event...
New Director for BIRU!
Dr Sue McGlashan, a Senior Lecturer in Cell and Molecular Imaging in the
Department of Anatomy with Radiology, has been appointed as the new BIRU
Director. Dr McGlashan has been involved with the BIRU since 2007 when she was
appointed into the position of Lecturer in Cellular and Molecular Imaging.
Originally a graduate of Leeds and London Universities, she came to New Zealand
in 2002 to conduct post-doctoral studies and decided New Zealand was a great
place to live. Her PhD was in the field of tissue engineering, which examined
the effects of mechanical loads on live cell signalling in cartilage cells.
Sue now heads the
Primary
Cilia Research Group, which uses a wide range of imaging techniques to
examine the role of the primary cilium in mechanosensory signalling in
connective tissue diseases, osteoarthritis, kidney fibrosis and in the
intervertebral disc.
She is also co-editor of the journal Cell Biology International.
The previous Director,
Associate Professor Alistair Young, was recently confirmed as the new Head of
Department for Anatomy with Radiology.
