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Cell imaging core technologist Shiau-Yin Wu operates the Helios 5CX Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope to produce 3D images of cells.

When researchers at the University of Calgary needed high-resolution images of rare immune cells, they turned to a powerful imaging tool located a few hours north at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.

What happened next was a collaboration that took cellular research to the next level and demonstrated the advanced capabilities available to researchers at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s Core Research Facilities.

The result: a study recently published in , showing how a type of immune cell may play a key role in triggering immune responses in the lungs. The study gives us and inflammation with longer-term potential for treating diseases ranging from asthma to cancer.

Behind the scenes of this study was the faculty’s Cell Imaging Core, where the U of A’s Helios 5CX Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB SEM) was used to generate the ultra-high-resolution 3D images of cell structures featured in the paper. The microscope is one of only two of its kind in Canada.

“The level of resolution needed for this study isn’t available in most places,” says Xuejun Sun, Cross Cancer Institute Cell Imaging Facility manager and co-author on the study. “The FIB SEM allows us to capture these images in a way that would be impossible with conventional microscopes.”

That kind of imaging power doesn’t come without expertise.

Sara Amidian, electron microscopy technologist with the faculty’s Cell Imaging Core, prepared the samples and performed the imaging work. She is also a co-author on the study, a rare honour for technical staff and a testament to the skill and care she brings to each project.

“Sara’s contribution went far beyond basic support. The quality of her work and attention to detail played a major role in the clarity and impact of the findings,” says Sun.

The study’s success shows the growing importance of cross-institutional collaboration and shared research infrastructure. The FIB SEM used in this study was acquired through a Canada Foundation for Innovation grant awarded to U of A professor Michael Hendzel, with matching funds from the Government of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. Hendzel is a Canada Research Chair in Genome Cell Biology and Dynamics and a member of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.

Cell imaging core coordinator Hilmar Strickfaden displays a FIB SEM sample.

“Our goal is to make these resources as accessible as possible to researchers here at the U of A and across the country,” says Colleen Sunderland, manager of the faculty’s Core Research Facilities. “We’re proud to support collaborations like this one that maximize impact and move science forward.”

The publication arrives at a time when Core Services is working to make more research teams aware that they can access and use the FIB SEM and other available facilities. Through the recently adjudicated Cell Imaging Research & Development Seed Grants Program, they are providing support to researchers to explore what’s possible with this high-resolution imaging technology and discover how it can further their own research.

“Researchers are often surprised by what we can help them see,” says Sun. “It could be cancer cells, brain tissue or viruses. We can help them use this tool in their study.”

The Core Research Facilities give research teams access to specialized and often expensive equipment and instruments that might not be available in their city. Experts on staff are also available to train and help researchers use the facilities.

The facilities available to researchers include:

• a cell imaging core, which provides services and training for light and electron microscopy
• a flow cytometry facility used to analyze cells suspended in solution
• an advanced cell exploration core specializing in next-generation sequencing, single cell and spatial transcriptomics, and automation of genetic or drug screening
• a lipidomics core for isolating and quantifying lipids and lipid-related molecules 
• a transgenic core that helps researchers with their transgenic mouse production and archiving needs

Also available are an autoclave repair core and a workshop for repair, maintenance and fabrication services.