| Set up funding accounts for your lab or company | Principal Investigators (PI) with Boston University, Boston Medical Center, or Evans Medical Foundation must register funding information in the Core Fund website. In this process, the PI can submit his/her funding information for verification. Please note that the cost center number provided is good for one year and you will need to re-register annually to use core. This step is open to all PIs that currently use or plan to use any core service under the BU umbrella. For troubleshooting, please reach out to the Cores financial administrator by emailing ngreen2@bu.edu. Commercial/corporate research groups are welcome to contact us (flowcore@bu.edu) to create a service agreement and establish an account with us. |
| Adding or updating a billing account for your lab or company | Use the Core Fund website to add/update funding sources. For troubleshooting, please reach out to the Cores financial administrator by emailing ngreen2@bu.edu. |
| Register in iLab and request access to the FCCF iLab site | All scientific staff who will be using the cores needs to register for an account in the iLabs system. Each staff member will be associated with a particular PI or PIs. During registration, please use the account number(s) that your PI has specified when creating Funding Profile(s). You can create a profile without specifying account numbers, however, you will not be able to make reservations until you have funding associated with your profile. Please follow the instructions on the Cores website to create an iLab account. Once you have the iLab account, send a request to gain access to FCCF iLab site. |
| Start using the FCCF services | Please initiate a request to access our instruments or services. A FCCF staff member will contact you after your submission has been received. |
| Familiarize yourself with basic flow cytometry concepts | We ask all new users with no prior cytometry experience to complete the mandatory online training which includes the “Introduction to Flow Cytometry” course offered by BD Biosciences and a brief quiz. The online training is provided through the BU Blackboard, and you should be enrolled in this training as a member of BU community. Start your online training once you submit the service request. Once you pass the quiz, please email us at flowcore@bu.edu to get enrolled into the next step of training. |
| Attend a FCCF training session on spectral cytometry | Both our analyzers accessible for users are Cytek Aurora spectral cytometers. To gain access to the instruments, a mandatory in-person training on spectral cytometry basics is required. Generally, training sessions are provided biweekly at 650 Albany St, room X304. After that, we proceed with a hands-on training on one of the Aurora units. This round of training is free of charge. If a new user of our Facility has significant experience on Cytek Aurora instruments of choice, some of the training steps may be waived. |
| Perform your first experiment with our assistance | If you need help with experimental design, you are welcome to request a consulting session (see below). Once you are ready to perform your first flow cytometry experiment, contact us and book the instrument through the scheduler. Make sure you are using FCCF-approved tubes. We highly recommend use of capture compensation beads for your single stain controls. You will run the instrument while observed by a FCCF staff member. If proficiency on the instrument is observed, your training will be complete and you will receive full access to the instrument. However, at any time if you wish to run another experiment with assistance, feel free to book an “Assisted” session, and one of our staff members will help you with the acquisition of your data. |
| Safety Training Requirements | Make sure that you are up to date with your BSL1 and BSL2 lab safety training (included in the Research Safety Training that is mandatory for all researchers on campus). You must also complete the Laser Safety Training at the EHS website (scroll down for laser safety training option). |
| Prepare your samples for sorting | You are not required to complete our training program (above) to use our sorting services on the MoFlo Astrios or BD ARIA II SORP. However, we recommend that all our sorting users complete the “Introduction to Flow Cytometry” course offered by BD Biosciences if they are not experienced in flow cytometry. Also, please contact the FCCF and describe your sorting plans. Our sorting specialists will discuss with you which machine is optimal for your sort, the required controls that you must bring to the sort, and how much time you need to reserve for your first session. It is essential that our sorting users follow the correct biosafety practices at all times, as described here. |
| Request a consulting session | We can help you to design your flow experiments (provide staining protocols, help you choose the best antibodies/other reagents to order, etc). Please email us if you want to meet and discuss your flow needs. To schedule a consulting session, please make a reservation. |
| If you need to obtain card access to FCCF (650 Albany St., room X320), please contact us, and we will update the security list. |
