Advanced Light Microscopy Facility

The Advanced Light Microscopy Facility (ALMF) offers a collection of state-of-the-art light microscopy equipment and image processing tools.

The facility was set up as a cooperation between EMBL and industry to improve communication between users and producers of high-end microscopy technology and to support in-house scientists and visitors in using light microscopy methods for their research. The ALMF also regularly organises in-house and international courses to teach basic and advanced light microscopy methods.

Major projects and accomplishments

• The ALMF presently manages 18 top-of-the-line microscope systems and eight high-content screening microscopes from leading industrial companies, as well as four image analysis workstations.
• More than 50 visitors per year come to carry out their own experiments in the ALMF or to evaluate microscopy equipment.
• The ALMF was the seed for the European Light Microscopy Initiative (ELMI) that establishes links with facilities throughout Europe.
• Usage of the facility has exceeded 50 000 hours per year.

Services provides

• Assisting all EMBL groups and visitors through the microscopic imaging process: project planning, sample preparation, staining, microscope selection and use, image processing, presentation, data transfer and storage.
• Developing accessory software and microscopy equipment, co-developments with industrial partners, pre-evaluation of commercial equipment.
• Supporting all aspects of automated microscopy and high content screening projects, including RNAi technology.

Technology partners

The ALMF presently has collaborations with the following companies:

• Applied Precision*
• Bitplane*
• Carl Zeiss*
• Eppendorf*
• Lambert Instruments*
• Leica Microsystems*
• Olympus*
• Perkin Elmer*
• PicoQuant
• Scientific Volume Imaging

* The ALMF also serves as a reference site for these companies.