Director of the Light Microscopy Core Facility, Lisa Cameron, Ph.D., and the microscopy specialists Yasheng Gao, Ph.D., and Benjamin Carlson, Ph.D., who run the day-to-day operations of the core.

Colin S. Duckett, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Basic Science at the Duke School of Medicine, emphasized Duke’s commitment to supporting basic biomedical research.

“The fact that our biologists at Duke have the latest-breaking most cutting-edge equipment is obviously a win for us,” he said, addressing the faculty in attendance. “Our job is to lower the barriers so that you can do some fantastic science.”

Leica will support routine maintenance and upgrades of its imaging systems, while the LMCF will give Leica important feedback on functionality and workflow.

“It’s very exciting to be able to advance into the future of scientific research in collaboration with a top-tier institution like Duke,” said Eppink. “With this agreement, we’re enabling researchers to push beyond the boundaries of what can be visualized and quantified. We look forward to continuing this alliance for years to come.”

Carin recognized the “incredible effort” by LMCF director, Lisa Cameron, PhD, in building this new collaboration and lauded her work running the LMCF since August 2016.

“The Light Microscopy Core is one of the most heavily used cores at Duke, fundamental to research across the university,” remarked Carin. “Your leadership is greatly appreciated.”

Christopher Counter, Ph.D., chair of the Duke Cancer Institute Shared Resource Oversight Committee and professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology (facing front), chats with fellow DCI member Scott Soderling, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cell Biology, at the celebratory reception. (photo by Colin Huth)

The LMCF was initially formed from several departmental microscope resources in the Levine Science Research Center. The Department of Biology and the Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology teamed up, along with the then Comprehensive Cancer Center's Confocal Microscopy Shared Resource, to hire a director in 2006 to establish and run a cooperative microscope facility for the two departments.

The facility received substantial funding from the Office of the Provost and the Dean of the Medical School in 2007 to purchase new equipment and become a resource for the entire Duke community. The facility remains a Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) Shared Resource.

Cameron thanked the university, DCI, and the School of Medicine for their investment in the continuous expansion of the LMCF and its technologies. She also expressed her appreciation for biologist Daniel P. Kiehart, Ph.D., and cancer biologist and DCI member Daniel Julio Lew, Ph.D., who’ve been LMCF advisors since the facility’s founding and for microscopy specialists Yasheng Gao, Ph.D., and Benjamin Carlson, Ph.D., who’ve been running the day-to-day operations of the facility for years.

Cameron also gave a shout-out to Scott Soderling, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cell Biology and a member of DCI and the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, for his department’s support in hosting the main LMCF location, Nanaline Duke building.

During a celebratory reception following the ceremony, Cameron, Gao, and Carlson gave informal tours of the new Leica imaging systems to a couple dozen Duke researchers and Duke and Leica officials.

The new Leica imaging systems are housed on campus in room 377 of the Nanaline Duke Building and in room 4229 of the Medical Science Research Building III.

“Leica Microsystems will serve as an excellent partner to help push forward the technology to perform advanced light microscopy imaging on a range of samples that are part of the research going on at Duke University, Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), and the Duke School of Medicine,” said Cameron.

As a centrally funded shared resource, the LMCF’s aim is to offer affordable and efficient access to standard and advanced imaging instrumentation for users of all levels of experience and from any discipline across Duke University and the Duke Medical Center campuses. The LMCF can help with live cells, fixed samples, model organisms, small animals, single-molecule imaging, or at most points in between.

The LMCF houses more than 22 microscope systems and nine image analysis workstations — including Leica, Andor Technologies, Carl Zeiss Imaging, Olympus, General Electric, Hamamatsu, and Molecular Devices — across the core’s four campus locations.