General Policies
The facility's imaging equipment is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After normal working hours, the facility is accessible through a card swipe system. Users require an iLab account to access the facility (see box at right). All equipment has a 15 minute rule which is as follows: If you are signed up to use a piece of equipment and do not show up for the first 15 minutes of your time, another user may take your time slot. If you know you cannot make your appointment, please delete your time from the online schedule or call 656-0813 to cancel and we will free up your time for another user. For those people who would like assistance using any instruments, please contact the facility personnel prior to signing up so that we can coordinate scheduling and have someone available to help you.
Usage Guidelines
The Microscopy Imaging Center is designed to facilitate investigators in their research endeavors. We will offer training and expertise for using the microscopes and workstations in the facility. Initial training is free. As a multiuser facility, we ask that all users follow these guidelines. If you have equipment questions, please ask the facility staff for assistance.
Safety Policies
Please see the bulletin board in the hallway outside of the imaging rooms for lab safety procedures. Note: As per UVM Risk Management guidelines food and drink are not allowed in the facility.
Working Alone/After Hours Policy
Due to increasing safety standards the Microscopy Imaging Center is no longer allowing tissue processing, incubations or work with chemicals to be done between the hours of 5:00 pm and 7:00 am weekdays or on weekends. The main lab and the cutting room (ultramicrotomes, paraffin microtome and cryostats) will be closed during these hours. The imaging rooms are the only ones available after hours and on weekends. We strongly encourage users doing imaging after hours to take safety precautions. Safety precautions for anyone working alone should be:
- Always notify someone if you are working alone.
- Keep a laboratory phone (911 for UVM police services) or cell phone on you at all times with the UVM police services number (802-656-3473).
- Contact MIC staff.
Hard Drives
The hard drives must remain free for optimal use. Therefore, we ask that all images be saved to an external media during collection or transferred at the end of each session and deleted from the hard drive. If you have questions about how to do this, contact a staff person to help you. The hard drive (C drive) is checked weekly and any images left on this drive are deleted without notice.
MIC Facility Acknowledgement
We respectfully request that users acknowledge the Microscopy Imaging Center in any publications resulting from use of the facility or its services. Acknowledgement helps us demonstrate our value to the research community, and it significantly enhances our future efforts to secure funding to bring you even more instruments and services. Anyone who uses the MIC should include a General Acknowledgement in their publication. Imaging work was performed at the Microscopy Imaging Center at the University of Vermont
(RRID# SCR_018821). If you used specific equipment that was purchased with grant funding (AFM or confocal) the corresponding grant information should be added.