Getting Started and Training

Are you interested in using the DHVI Flow Cytometry Facility? Please complete the following steps: 

  1. Get linked to a PI and project (fund code/PO number) in CoreResearch@Duke prior to scheduling training.

    • Contact your lab manager or financial manager for assistance.

  2. Schedule training.

    • Staff-assisted cell sorter use: please email us to set up an orientation to the sorting facility.

    • Independent cell analyzer or sorter use: please request independent end user training.

  3. Fill out a hazard assessment form at least 48 hours before your first session.

    • This form needs to be filled out once for each type of cell analyzed, but not for each single experiment

  4. Schedule a session in CoreResearch@Duke.

  5. Download and fill out a cytometer-specific protocol sheet below for each staff-assisted session.

  6. Visit the flow cytometry facility with your samples in an appropriate container, and run your samples!

    • Don't forget to acknowledge our facility in your publications!

Hands-On Analyzer Training

Day 0: Complete training material

  • Introduction to Flow Cytometry: ​Take the quizzes at the end of each section.
  • DiVa Training Manual: The BD FACSDiva Workspace, Cytometer Acquisition Controls, Tools for Data Analysis (Chapters 2-4)
  • Please note that you do not have to memorize this training material. It is here for you to feel comfortable prior to hands-on training.

Day 1: Orientation and hands-on session #1 (~ 1 hour)

  • Topics: facility policies and procedures, CoreResearch, hazard assessment forms, data management, and instrument care and use.
  • Hands-on demonstration of instrument startup, quality control, troubleshooting, and shutdown.

Day 2: Hands-on session #2 (~1 hour)

  • User will perform instrument startup, quality control, troubleshooting, and shutdown.
  • Any further training or education the user prefers, such as in-depth training on compensation, acquiring the user’s samples, etc.
  • If the user demonstrates lack of ability to independently operate the instrument successfully, another training session may be scheduled.

Sorter Orientation

Please email the facility to reserve time with a sort operator for a a brief orientation to our sorters.

 

Please acknowledge the DHVI Flow Cytometry Facility in your publications:

“Flow cytometry was performed in the Duke Human Vaccine Institute Flow Cytometry Facility (Durham, NC).”

For work conducted on the S02, please add the following sentence to your acknowledgments:

"Flow cytometry was performed in the Immunology Unit of the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at Duke, which received partial support for construction from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (UC6-AI058607)"

Email us a PDF of your paper acknowledging the DHVI Flow Cytometry Facility to earn a free hour of flow time!