Explore UAB

Colleges & Schools

UAB Institutional Research Core Program Office of Research

UAB Institutional Research Core Program

  • Picture3
    Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
  • Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
  • Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
  • Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
  • Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
  • Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility
  • Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility

Policies

UAB Flow Cytometry and Single-Cell Core facility (FCSC) is a shared resource. It is the responsibility of all the researchers using the core facility to be familiar with the core policies.

  1. New Users:
    1. New users will request access to the scheduler (FBS system) by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please note the following details in the email.
      1. Your full name
      2. PI Name
      3. PI Department/Division
      1. Analyzers: All the analyzers are self-operated. Investigators new to the technology and/or the facility will contact the FCSC staff to schedule training. The users may bring their samples to the training. The first training session will be for two hours. Further, training sessions will be determined by the FCSC staff and will depend on the user's previous flow cytometry experience. Once the training is completed, users must schedule and attend a practical test. Once the new user successfully demonstrates competency in independently operating the instrument, access to the instrument and the facility will be provided.
      2. Sorters: Sorting is offered both as assisted and self-run service. Assisted sorting appointments will be made on the FBS scheduler at least 12 hours before the planned sorting experiment. Assisted sort requests on short notice will have to be discussed with the staff to ensure availability. Investigators requesting self-run access to the sorters will complete training to the satisfaction of the FCSC staff. After completing the training, the investigators have to self-sort at least 20 hours during business hours to be granted after-hour (before 9 AM and after 5 PM) access.
    3. Please provide the following information to request after-hour access.
      1. Your full name:
      2. PI name:
      3. PI Department/ Division:
      4. Blazer ID:
  2. Cancellation policy:
    1. Analyzers and sorters: Investigators are allowed to cancel an appointment on analyzers before 12 hours and on sorters before 48 hours of the scheduled appointment without any charge. Cancellation within the 12 hours prior to the appointment for analyzers and 48 hours for sorters will be billed full charge. Under exceptional circumstances, the cancellation fee may be waived at the discretion of the FCSC staff.
    2. Missed appointments will be fully charged.
  3. Biosafety:
    1. Both facilities at Shelby and Bevill are designated BSL2 facilities. Investigators accessing the facilities will follow the UAB-approve protocols for biosafety.
    2. Personal protective equipment will always be worn while using the facility.
    3. Information on the infectious samples will be provided to the operators prior to the sorting using the FBS system.
    4. The UAB Environmental and Occupational Safety should approve sorting protocols for infectious samples before scheduling the appointment.
    5. Investigators working with bacteria and yeast requiring sorting services should discuss with the FCSC staff prior to scheduling appointments.
    6. Sorting the infectious agents may require additional cleaning and culture steps that will be performed by the FCSC staff and may require up to 1 to 4 hours. These charges will be billed to the investigators requesting the services.
    7. Investigators using the facility will maintain the cleanliness of the shared resource. All the samples will be properly disposed of in the designated biohazard labeled bins by the investigators using the facility.
    8. UAB public health protocols will be implemented at the facility.
  4. Software:
    UAB has a site license for the FlowJo™ analysis software. Investigators will be billed annually to access the software. The software price may vary every year depending on the number of licenses on the campus. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to gain access to the software or other inquiries.
  5. Data storage policy:b>
    The FCSC is not responsible for the storage of the data. Investigators should retrieve the raw data and the experiment templates immediately after the experiment's conclusion.
  6. Billing:
    1. The time billed for an appointment will be either the total time used (rounded to the closest 15-minute increment) or the time reserved, whichever is longer.
    2. Investigators using the instrument without reservation on the FBS calendar will be charged additional 15 minutes on each such usage.
    3. The previous month's billing will be concluded within the first three weeks of the current month. For example, the invoices received by the investigators during the month of February will be for usage in the month of January.
    4. Investigators will be provided five working days to request any changes in the invoice, for example, changing the account number to be billed.
    5. If the investigator would like to challenge the incurred charges, may do so within the five working days of the invoice date, after which the charges are finalized and will not be revisited.
  7. Questions and concerns:
    1. Sorting: It is recommended to perform a post-sort purity test after each sort. Investigators have to work with the FCSC core staff to troubleshoot any low purity sorts.
    2. Investigators having questions with regard to usage of the facility should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
    3. Investigators having concerns about proceedings at the core should contact the facility manager.
  8. User compliance:
    The FCSC has the right to refuse services for investigators that show noncompliance with the policies.
  9. University holidays and bad weather closings:
    1. The FCSC will be closed on the University designated holidays.
    2. The FCSC will be closed if the University closes due to inclement weather conditions. All the appointments will be canceled.
  10. Acknowledgments:
    Investigators using the facility should acknowledge FCSC and the support by the Center for AIDS Research grant AI027767, and The O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center grant CA013148.
  11. Single-Cell Services:
    Investigators utilizing the single-cell services should contact Dr. Shanrun Liu (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Dr. Joe Sun (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for consultation and policies that may be uniquely applicable to the single-cell assay requested by the investigator.