Spotlight on University of York’s Bioscience Technology Facility

Under the leadership of Peter O’Toole, the University of York’s Bioscience Technology Facility is a highly impressive integrated core facility, bringing together Imaging & Flow Cytometry, Genomics, Metabolomics & Proteomics, Data Sciences, Molecular Interactions, and Protein Production facilities. Part of Euro-BioImaging’s UK Node, the facility is truly inspirational in its ability to innovate alongside industry partners and its unwavering commitment to the global imaging community. In addition, this facility is an excellent place to take a training course or do an imaging project - and offers a wide range of technologies in open access via Euro-BioImaging.   

Following ELMI2024 in Liverpool, UK, several members of the Euro-BioImaging Hub team had the opportunity to visit one of the sites of our UK Node at the University of York.

The location and design of the Bioscience Technology Facility embodies its philosophy – right in the center of the Department building, it brings together  labs, offices, and machinery of the different facilities in a spirit of true integration. Through this, the experts in the facility work together to support the wide range of research at York University. 

Cutting-edge technologies in open access 

The Imaging Facility offers an impressive array of technologies, from Ptychography (Quantitative Phase Imaging), high-throughput screening and live cell imaging, to super-resolution, different EM systems, and spatial transcriptomics. Through the close interaction and integration with other facilities these technologies can be complemented with a wide range of other services, such as Mass-Spectrometry and testing of protein dynamics with Fluorometry and NanoDSF, customizable to each projects’ needs.

Innovation with industry 

The staff in the Imaging facility are working on multiple cutting-edge technology development projects, including co-development projects with different companies. This alpha-stage technology development and testing, done by the facilities’ expert staff, but on real samples and research questions from the department, allows the new technologies to be developed close to their applications and to be released ready with a set of successful application examples. The York facility has also turned many of these developments into successful, longstanding collaborations with different instrument manufacturers.

Dedication to service provision

It is clear that the service mindset permeates the whole facility – in how the labs and visitor’s offices are set up, to meeting rooms for external clients – and therefore it is no surprise that the facility proudly supports also many external user projects, both from academia as well as many industry users. 

Making a difference in the world of imaging

Peter O’Toole, Head of the Imaging and Cytometry facility and Director of the overall Bioscience Technology facility, speaks with great passion not just about his facilities’ and their technologies and services, but also his experiences on infrastructure policy and making imaging more accessible around the world. This is done through involvement of his facility and staff in collaborative projects with institutions across Africa, instrument recycling and sharing programs, and his ambitious plans of growing the York microscopy courses. The impressive training infrastructure has already seen many participants in the existing training courses and summer schools, with plans to train and enthuse many more burgeoning imaging scientists in the coming years.