About UC San Diego School of Medicine Microscopy Core

Microscopy Core was initially established in 2004 to meet the imaging needs of research laboratories at the UC San Diego School of Medicine (SOM). Currently we serve labs at the SOM, general campus as well as sister institutions and local companies.

Our Offerings

We offer access to well maintained, high end instrumentation and software that may not be available in individual laboratories. We have 12 microscope systems ranging from super resolution solutions to live cell imaging and electron microscopy. We also offer specialized histology services such as Neuro Histology, CLARITY and Array Tomography. Our experts provide consultation and guidance with everything relating to imaging, image analysis and histology.

Microscopy

Software

• Volocity
• Imaris
• Image Pro Premier
• Arivis

Contact us to schedule a tour of the facility, demonstration of a specific system, or meeting to discuss which technology will best suit your experimental needs. You must be affiliated with an established laboratory or For-profit corporation for access to our resources. No residential addresses will be accepted as a laboratory. You must also provide a current approved BUA and/or animal protocol. 

If you wish to do any live cell imaging in the core, you must have approval by submitting a BUA authorization form to core staff along with a copy of your BUA report listing the proposed research material.

The Core is conveniently located in the heart of the School of Medicine.

The UCSD Microscopy Core maintains a Leica Center of Excellence designation. If you would like to benefit from our center's collaboration with Leica, you can do so in the following ways:

Write a White Paper!

White papers are short descriptions of your research application. Descriptions include use of our Leica systems along with a beautiful image.

Write a Techical Note!

Technical notes consist of more indepth description of methods used or developed on the Leica platform.

Both white papers and technical notes are a great way for you to increase the impact of your publication! Readers will naturally visit your publication after reading your Leica collaboration and potentially cite your paper.

Give a Webinar!

Leica can promote your lab and your research through hosting your talk to the world! 

Be a guest speaker at a local conference!

Leica can host you to be a guest speaker at one of the many local conferences held in San Diego.

If you are interested in any of these options or would like more information, please email us for details.

Our Partners

We partner with the Moores Cancer Center Microscopy Core to meet the imaging needs at both the Main Campus and the Cancer Center campus.

We also closely partner with the EM Core Facility to provide multiscale microscopy services. An NINDS P30 core grant (NS047101) is used to subsidize the rates for P30 sponsored members.

Our Management

The Microscopy Core is managed by Jennifer Santini, with faculty supervision by Dr. Binhai Zheng (Neurosciences), in consultation with the Microscopy Core Faculty Steering Committee.

Future Directions

• Acquiring multiphoton microscopy
• Increase the instrumentation and technology available to UC San Diego researchers in the field of microscopy
• Expand our current capabilities with Correlative Microscopy and Correlative Array Tomography