Getting started

  1. Attend the induction and laser safety training. This take place on the first Tuesday of each month at 09:45. Just turn up at the Facility no need to book. We start promptly and if you are late you have to wait until the next session.
  2. Start an account on the PPMS Microscope Booking System. Use your SWC (not UCL) login details. If you do not have an SWC account, see SWC IT. The user name must by prefixed with ad\ on the login page. e.g. like this: ad\tomo
  3. Contact us via Slack: Peter for general microscopy; Jess for histo; Rob for BrainSaw; Isabell for in vivo 2p. There are specific channels for most things, which you can join to receive notifications.
  4. Please discuss your imaging needs with us before starting the relevant experiments. This can avoid wasted time.

Where are we?

The Facility is located in the SWC on Level B2, immediately to the left as you come out of the lifts. You need to be laser safety trained to have access to the Facility. There is a door bell to the left of the door.

How to contact us?

Contact us via Slack. Messages regarding equipment is sent only via Slack. Please make sure you join channels associated with equipment you use to receive relevant notifications.

How do I sign up for BrainSaw?

The BrainSaw sign up details are here on the wiki.

Do you take samples from external users?

The AMF primarily caters for scientists within the SWC. Since we also conduct a lot of internal technique development, we do not have the bandwidth to take on significant numbers of external samples. However:

  1. We can generate small quantities of pilot data.
  2. We can assist with technology transfer: helping external groups to build our tools.
  3. We are very open to collaborations with external groups or facilities.

Where do I store my data?

We strongly recommend data are stored on one of the managed servers managed by the SWC Scientific Computing team. Data on these are backed up to tape and the hardware is well monitored, so this are the safest place to keep your data. We also strongly suggest you adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Store data in your group’s shared directory rather than in your own personal user folder. Data kept in your user folder are only visible to you.
  • Include your initials in the file names of your images, acquisitions (e.g. brainsaw acquisitions), or the lowest level folder that holds the images. This helps trace who produced what.
  • Store images in a sensible directory structure. e.g. ./margrie/projects/MVF_2023_ThreePhotonValidation/BrainSaw
  • Data on the server are backed up to tape. Renaming the folder housing the data or moving the data to a new location will spawn a new backup. Please, therefore, try to settle on a suitable folder structure in advance in order to minimize the creation of redundant backups by subsequently moving data around. Avoid routinely placing data in “temporary” locations on the server before moving it on to a final location.