Core Facilities

ADDFab Gets Creative to Print 29-Inch Black Sea Bass
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

ADDFab Gets Creative to Print 29-Inch Black Sea Bass

Advanced Digital Design and Fabrication (ADDFab) Core Facility Director Dave Follette and Intern Simon Brooks, Mechanical Engineering ‘25, were approached by a client about a rather interesting project — they were asked to develop a 29-inch model of a black sea bass.

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ADDFab's Partnership With FORGE Helps Small Business Create Prototype
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

ADDFab's Partnership With FORGE Helps Small Business Create Prototype

FORGE, a nonprofit helping innovators achieve commercialization and impact, connected the Advanced Digital Design and Fabrication (ADDFab) core facility with Kimberly Cook, founder of Cooked Up Ideas, to create a device that would keep flags from becoming tangled. Together, Cook and ADDFab have created a star-shaped flag weight that will prevent flags from becoming twisted and torn in the wind.

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Core Summer Internship Program
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

Applications Are Now Open for the 2024 Core Summer Internship Program

We are now accepting applications for the IALS Undergraduate Core Summer Internship (CSI) Program, Summer 2024! The CSI Program aims to provide hands-on experiential research & technical training with the UMass Core Facilities to UMass undergraduate students from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). 

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Xheme
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

Cell Culture Core Facility Testing Validates Xheme's Promising XMAs

Xheme, a specialty materials company based at the UMass Amherst Mount Ida Campus in Newton and affiliated with the UMass Innovation Institute (UMII), has developed a non-toxic programmable powder to make “smarter” plastics and coatings. Xheme Multifunctional Additives (XMAs), which can be customized based on application, boast a range of promising uses, from the next generation of blood storage bags to paint that is more resistant to fungus and fading.

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Charlene Coleman Retires After Over 8 Years With IALS
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

Charlene Coleman Retires After Over 8 Years With IALS

Congratulations to Charlene Coleman, former Core Facilities Accountant, as she begins a new adventure in retirement! Charlene was a beloved member of the IALS Administration Team and will be missed by all who had the pleasure of working with her.

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Funding

Core Facilities Funding Opportunities

IALS Research Centers (CBD, CPHM, M2M) have generously offered to contribute incentive funds to stimulate novel uses of the Core Facilities as well as subsidize training for student users.

All active faculty members of IALS and Core Facility Directors can initiate a request for funds. 

  • Small equipment (including new instruments or enhancements to existing instruments)
  • Materials/operational costs for validation of new service lines, or expansion of existing service lines to users new to a technique 
  • Consultation fees (including engaging external partners)

To access student training funds, please consult with the Core Facility that would be providing training. 

Core Directors and/or faculty can initiate a request for funds by filling out this formbit.ly/coreFundingOpps

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Core Facilities Seminar-Center for Human Health & Performance

2:00 pm - ZOOM (Registration is required)

'Recognizing Gender Diversity in Research,' Genny Beemyn, director of The Stonewall Center, UMass Amherst.Abstract: Binary and nonbinary trans people are often excluded from or misidentified in studies because of the language and methodologies used by researchers. This presentation will discuss why this is a major problem, not only for inclusionary purposes but also for scientific integrity, and suggest possible solutions.

2023 Spring Open House-Meet the Cores

Core Facilities Spring 2023 Open House

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Join us for an information Q&A with our core facilities directors and staff.

Core Summer Internship
  • Core Facilities 

Graduate Summer Research Assistant Program in the Core Facilities

These RA positions will be under the supervision of the Core Facility directors, and will function similarly to an external internship position – the graduate student will essentially be on leave from their PIs lab for the duration of the summer period. There shall be no split appointments between the PIs lab and the Core Facility.

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Lili He
  • Core Facilities | IALS Interview Series 

IALS Interview with Lili He

Lili He is department head in the Department of Food Science, director of Raman, IR and XRF Spectroscopy core facility and member of the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring.

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MassAITC
  • IALS | CPHM | Core Facilities 

IALS Partner MassAITC Is Improving the Lives of Older Adults Through AI

According to the United States Census, the population of adults over age 65 has spiked in the past decade, reaching more than 55 million people—or over 1 in 6 people in the country—in 2020. The vast majority of older Americans would prefer to stay in their homes as they age, but for many, chronic illness, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias, make this out of reach without substantial support.

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Michael Busa, PhD
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

IALS Researchers and REOFTech Receive Funding to Train AI to Support the Relationship Between Alzheimer’s Disease Patients and Their Caregivers

Michael Busa, director for the Center for Human Health and Performance and technology and consulting company, REOFTech, have been awarded $280,000 from Mass AITC to conduct a pilot study to develop a new at-home technology platform to help patients and their caretakers manage Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

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Light Microscopy: Learn about the new Nikon Scanning Confocal

2:00 pm - LSL S340
with Joseph DiPietro, Nikon Instruments. Learn about the new Nikon scanning confocal that was just purchased with MLSC funding-NOW for all LMF users. He will describe the underlying technology of the new AXR scan head as well as the brand new NSPARC detector unit. This microscope can be fully automated, even employing artificial intelligence for on-the-fly decision making and to streamline your imaging workload.
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LMF Seminar - Lattice Light Sheet Microscope

11:00 am - LSL N410

Light Microscopy is featuring the Lattice Light Sheet Microscope from Zeiss. The LLSM technique allows 3D imaging at high volumetric speed with very gentle light, with close-to-zero phototoxicity and photobleaching. Pizza and beverages will be provided.

Please register if you plan to attend.

Jeanne Hardy and Jasna Fejzo
  • IALS | M2M | Core Facilities 

NMR Core Facility Receives $4.4 Million from MLSC for Advanced Atomic Resolution Instrument

IALS has received more than $4.4 million from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) to acquire an 800 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. This high-field atomic resolution instrument will aid researchers working to develop the next generation of drugs to treat high unmet-need diseases, including various types of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Practical Cognitive Assessment Methods for AD/ADRD Research Projects

4:00 pm - ZOOM

Speakers: Michael Busa (CH2P), Kathryn Pap, Harvard Med School and Ipsit Vahia, McLean Hospital. Hosted by MassAITC this webinar session will focus on the topic of cognitive assessments and their importance for Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementia (AD/ADRD) research.

Ravi Ranjan, PhD
  • IALS | Core Facilities 

Ravi Ranjan Presents at Advances in Genome Biology and Technology Conference

Genomics Resource Laboratory Director Ravi Ranjan recently presented at the 2024 Advances in Genome Biology and Technology General Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The presentation, “Streamlined for speed: NEBNext UltraExpress for DNA and RNA library prep,” helped address challenges pertaining to next generation sequencing (NGS) applications. 

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Sleep Monitoring Lab
  • Core Facilities 

Sleep Monitoring-Core Summer Internship

The Sleep Monitoring Core Facility is seeking three summer interns to assist with the following:

  • Assist in participant recruitment
  • Schedule testing sessions (and schedule additional staff for managing the testing session as needed).
  • Support data collection, data scoring, and data analysis (training provided)
  • Monitor supplies usage, request/assist with ordering replacement supplies as necessary.
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Slide Scanning Tele-Microscopy Service
  • Light Microscopy 

Slide Scanning Tele-Microscopy Service

What is tele-microscopy? It’s a service where you get great data without having to travel!

We can image in brightfield for traditional histology samples or fluorescence (epi or confocal) for up to 7 colors. We can image entire tissue sections or specific areas of interest to you and your team.

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Special Seminar-Learn How to Better Support Alzheimer's and Dementia Participants in Your Research

11:00 am - LSL S330-340 and ZOOM

Meghan Lemay, Regional Manager of Alzheimer's Association of Western MA, joins us for a presentation on understanding Alzheimer's disease and dementia, including current treatments and risk factors. The program will also provide tips on how to better interact and communicate with individuals living with dementia. You will also learn about resources available to support families impacted by Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

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Special Seminar: Automating Microscopes

12:00 pm - LSL S330/S340

Join the core summer interns in Light Microscopy for a special seminar on automating microscopes. Presented by Ramita Dhamrongsirivadh, Quang Minh, and Dhimitraq Nikolla.

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Spinning Disc Confocal Lunch & Learn

12:00 pm - LSL S330-340-Conference Center
Join us for a Light Microscopy seminar. Nikon will be discussing the basics and the benefits of Spinning Disc Confocal Microscopy. Lunch provided by the Light Microscopy Facility.
IALS Core Facilities Showcase 2023
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Third Annual Core Facilities Showcase

1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Please join us on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 for the third annual UMass Amherst Core Facility Showcase in the Life Science Laboratories Conference Center from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

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3rd Core Facilities Showcase group
  • Core Facilities 

Third Annual Core Facilities Showcase Recap

On Tuesday, November 7, IALS hosted the third annual UMass Core Facilities Showcase!

The event began with two excellent student presentations. Neeraj Raghuraman, MIE, Srimathveeravalli group, presented on “Irreversible electroporation-assisted decellularization of intestinal tissues for use as a potential graft in bladder reconstruction therapy,” and Gabrielle Villafana, BMB, Rausch group, presented on “Determining the effect of LRP1 inhibitors on tau spread in vivo.” Great work to both students!

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2023 ABRF Annual Meeting
  • Core Facilities 

Vinard and Chambers Help Organize 2023 ABRF Annual Meeting

The 2023 Annual Meeting for the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) took place in Boston, MA on May 7-10. The event, entitled Driving Collaborative Science, brought together scientific leaders to commemorate impacts of science on our lives and help make a collective difference in an increasingly global society.

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