Location: UNLV, White Hall, room 207A

Phone (contact): Steven de Belle (Director) 702.895.3271
Brian Dunkelberger (Technician) 702.895.4657 or 702.895.1656
NCBI Facility 702.895.2698

Mailing Address: Nevada Center for Biological Imaging
c/o J Steven de Belle, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
4505 Maryland Parkway
Vegas, NV 89154-4004

Web Address: http://www.unlv.edu/centers/cbi/

 

 

NEVADA CENTER for BIOLOGICAL IMAGING (NCBI)

The UNLV Imaging Center was established in 1999 through an NSF EPSCoR award. It became part of the Nevada BRIN technology core network in 2003 and is now a component of INBRE. As part of BRIN and INBRE, the purpose of the core is to provide access to confocal microscopy for all Nevada researchers. The central piece of equipment in this multi-user facility is a state-of-the-art Zeiss LSM-510 confocal laser scanning microscopy system (CLSM) mounted on either upright or inverted Zeiss microscope bodies. A second high-resolution digital imaging system is used for epifluorescence and other types of light microscopy. The core operates both as a shared instrument facility and re-charge center. INBRE funding provides annual salary for a microscopy technician and salary (10%) for the facility director. Together, these individuals are responsible for (1) maintaining equipment in optimal working order, (2) administering user access, (3) promoting the training of new users, (4) updating hardware and software, and (5) procurement of additional of funds to ensure that the facility continues to meet the needs of the research community. Users receive training from our technician and must demonstrate proficiency with the CLSM before receiving access to the facility (passwords, computer accounts, magnetic card keys). A web-based reservation program is used to schedule time in the Imaging Core. Registered users are charged either $25/hr or a flat rate for each laboratory of $1000/yr.

CLSM has revolutionized our ability to understand complex biological processes by dramatically reducing out-of-focus haze and significantly increasing axial resolution, allowing for the acquisition of digital 3D images and surface profiles. These capabilities have vastly broadened the scope of questions being addressed in biological systems to the extent that CLSM has become a basic tool for the advancement of research. The INBRE Imaging Core is having a profound impact on infrastructure and enhancing our ability to develop innovative and timely research products. It has also strengthened our training of postdoctoral associates, and graduate and undergraduate students, improving their competitive ability and maturation as scientists. We currently have 23 active users from six research groups (Andres, Batista, de Belle, Hoshizaki, Shen, Zamboni), and new users being trained on a regular basis. The core is booked to capacity during many months of the year. Recent upgrades to the system include new computers and flat pannel monitors, Zeiss Visart ® image enhancement software, a 2 TB server for data storage and backup, and several new microscope objectives to accommodate a broader range of applications.