Duke University and Leica Microsystems establish Microscopy Center of Excellence

19 Feb 2020

Opening today, February 19th, resources include STED and mulitphoton imaging equipment.

STED capability: image of a living T cell in suspension.

Duke University, Durham, NC, US, and Leica Microsystems have joined forces to establish the Leica Microsystems Center of Excellence at Duke University Light Microscopy Core Facility.

This facility is intended to support "a mission to drive new discoveries and insights from scientific research performed using the imaging systems," the partners said in the launch statement.

The center was officially opened on Wednesday February 19th by Dr. Lawrence Carin, Duke's Vice President for Research, and Greg Eppink, Leica Microsystems Americas General Manager of Microscopy.

STED and DIVE

The Center of Excellence hosts several imaging systems, including cutting-edge stimulated emission depletion (STED) super-resolution and nanoscopy, and Deep in vivo Explorer (DIVE) multiphoton imaging, allowing researchers to capture images and video of the cellular and molecular processes of life.

"A scientist's insight is only as good as their tools," commented Carin. "We're very pleased to have this microscopy center on campus to help our investigators see ever deeper into the mysteries of life."

"It's very exciting to be able to advance into the future of scientific research in collaboration with a top-tier institution like Duke," said Eppink. "With this agreement, we're enabling researchers to push beyond boundaries of what can be visualized and quantified and fulfilling Leica Microsystems' mission to provide unrivaled insight for our customers."

"Leica Microsystems actively seeks to collaborate with leading research institutions. Scientists at Duke are prominent leaders in the global scientific community and their dedication to advancing human knowledge of the life sciences is an inspiration," added Douglas Spotts, Vice President and General Manager, Leica Microsystems Americas.

Leica Microsystems’ TCS SP8 STED 3X STED Microscope.

'Techniques of tomorrow'

The center is also intended to provide valuable feedback necessary to drive innovation in software, systems and workflow solutions while informing the applications and advanced imaging and analysis techniques of the future.

This supports the Leica Microsystems principle of "with the user, for the user," established by Ernst Leitz I, the entrepreneur who led the business to world renown.

For 170 years, Leica Microsystems has helped shape the future and continues to do so today with its latest digital innovations enabling new insights for research, medical, and industrial applications.