Twinbrook Imaging Facility

The Twinbrook Imaging Facility’s mission is to provide world-class instrumentation, instruction, and technical support to enable researchers to acquire high-quality images of living and fixed cells from all kinds of model systems. The primary goal of the facility is to train fellows and students to become excellent microscopists in their own right. Active communication amongst users is highly encouraged to culture academic growth and solve common problems. The Facility strives to maintain fluidity in the open design of its microscopes to meet the changing needs of the investigators.

Integral to the facility is its data analysis capabilities. Users have access to unlimited, backed-up data storage and the analysis software listed below. A variety of Matlab code, developed by Dr. Javier Manzella-Lapeira, tailored to tackle complicated data analysis challenges is freely available or can be modified to apply to new problems in a collaborative manner upon request.  

  • Matlab
  • FIJI
  • Nikon Elements
  • Zeiss ZEN
  • MetaMorph
  • Imaris (supported through NIAID core imaging facility)
  • Huygens 3D deconvolution

Instruments in the Twinbrook Imaging Facility are available by appointment. Contact Dr. Brzostowski.

Imaging Systems

TIRF Laser

TIRF Laser

Credit: NIAID

The facility supports a number of light microscopy techniques to image live cells and these techniques are listed below.  Although we have a penchant for the exotic, the facility whole-heartedly welcomes routine imaging of fixed samples!

Selected Publications

Facility users love to share their knowledge and have numerous book chapters and methods papers. 

Brzostowski J, Sohn HW eds. Methods in Molecular Biology: Confocal Microscopy. Springer, 2021.

Brzostowski J. General Considerations for Acquiring a Three-Color Image by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy. Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2304:65-91. 

Manzella-Lapeira J, Brzostowski J. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging as a Noninvasive Tool to Study Plasmodium Falciparum Metabolism. Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2304:301-313. 

Manzella-Lapeira J, Brzostowski J, Serra-Vinardell J. Studying Neuronal Biology Using Spinning Disc Confocal Microscopy. Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2304:265-283. 

Manzella-Lapeira J, Brzostowski JA. Imaging Protein-Protein Interactions by Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) Microscopy in Live Cells. Curr Protoc Protein Sci. 2018 Aug;93(1):e58. 

Sohn HW, Brzostowski J. Time-Lapse Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Imaging by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy for Analyzing Dynamic Molecular Interactions in the Plasma Membrane of B Cells. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1707:207-224. 

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