June 4, 2008--Nikon Instruments Inc. (Melville, NY) and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL) announced the opening of a collaborative core microscopy imaging center, establishing a partnership that brings improved research capabilities to Northwestern, while providing critical feedback for Nikon product development. The Northwestern Nikon Imaging Center will be equipped with the latest technology in light microscopy imaging systems and will be instrumental in ongoing biomedical research.
The Feinberg School's Cell Imaging Center will house the latest generation of microscopy equipment, beginning with Nikon confocal and live-scan swept-field confocal microscopes. These microscopes will allow users to rapidly capture images of fast-moving live-cell events and samples that are sensitive to light. The Nikon confocal microscope combines two imaging techniques--confocal and spectral imaging--to view a complete "stack" of images, providing 3-D spectrally separated cellular information that is acquired at faster rates and higher resolution than typically available when these techniques are done separately.
As part of the collaboration between the two entities, Nikon will sponsor microscopy workshops at the Feinberg School to ensure that researchers and students can achieve the greatest return on their work with the new microscope systems. Several individuals at the Feinberg School of Medicine were instrumental in establishing the collaboration between Nikon and Northwestern, including Vladimir Gelfand, the Leslie B. Arey Professor of Cell, Molecular, and Anatomical Sciences; Rex Chisholm, the Adam and Richard T. Lind Professor of Medical Genetics and Dean for Research; and Robert Goldman, the Stephen Walter Ranson Professor and chair of Cell and Molecular Biology.
The new facility will host a grand-opening ceremony June 4th at 11:30 a.m., followed by an open house. The facility joins imaging centers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Francisco. Globally, the list of top imaging centers that house a Nikon Center include Oxford University, England; Curie Institute, France; Heidelberg University, Germany; Singapore Bioimaging Consortium; and Hokkaido University, Japan.