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About Us > Policies & Procedures

Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility (CMIF) and Microscopy Shared Resource (MSR)
The Ohio State University, 460 W 12th Avenue, Columbus Ohio, 43210
Director: Paul Stoodley, Ph.D.

About this facility

The CMIF (Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility) staff work diligently to treat all investigators and their projects with equal respect. All projects and experiments are important and deserve equal attention from us. So that we may provide equipment in good working order, minimize conflicts, and make the best use of the researchers’ time, the policies and procedures of the facility are outlined below.

Care and Use of Equipment

All Ohio State University (OSU) researchers have access to the services provided by the facility. External users are accommodated as time allows. We encourage the independent use of the instruments; however, all unassisted use must have the approval of a CMIF staff member, gained through training.

  • Experiencing troubles while imaging. Please never attempt to fix any equipment, no matter how trivial. As soon as possible, contact CMIF staff at 614-292-9786 or email cmif@osu.edu via the “Contact Us” link. CMIF staff will rectify the problem or will contact service personnel.

  • Damaged Equipment. Please notify the CMIF staff of any damage to instruments as soon as possible. Damage to instruments by the users may be billed to the Principal Investigator.

  • Clean-up and Care. Following microscope use, the room and equipment should be left clean, operational, and in standard configuration. This must be done before the end of your scheduled session. CMIF is not responsible for lost items – any materials left on lab benches will be thrown away and any lost personal items can be found in the 245 Lost and Found bin.

  • Microscope Settings. Users may not change CMIF designated settings on any instrument. Users doing so will be charged for time necessary to correct any resulting problems and may have their use of the instrument restricted. Any additional settings necessary will need to be adjusted for the user by CMIF staff.

Payment / Billing

Instruments are charged on a per-hour basis. More than 15 minutes constitutes one hour.

  • Payment for services at the CMIF requires a FOM (Facility Online Manager) profile with approved and active Workday requisition. Without an active account at the time of service, access to the facility will be denied.
  • Workday requisitions can only be linked to one user FOM account.
  • Users needing technical assistance, including training, will be charged for CMIF staff time and the hourly microscope usage fee.

Training

Training is required for all new users looking to gain equipment access. All training is conducted by CMIF staff and not your experienced peers, although they are welcome to accompany the training and assist afterwards.

  • Training is required regardless of experience. We recognize that users have varying knowledge, therefore we tailor the session to the user. More experienced users may receive shorter sessions and obtain access quicker; however, this is always up to the discretion of the CMIF trainer.
  • Training is one-on-one with CMIF staff. This ensures individualized attention to learn safe and effective microscopic techniques that maximize data quality and minimize instrument misuse.
  • Training is conducted in two sessions. 
    • The 1st training session focuses on safe and effective microscope operation with full-instruction and hands-on experience using practice samples provided by the CMIF.
    • The 2nd training session focuses on working with a CMIF staff member to obtain high quality images from your own samples. The extent of this second training depends on the experience of the user and difficulty of the sample. More information about the second training session will be provided by the trainer after the first training session.

Scheduling & Independent Use

  • After-hours Access. Approval for after-hours and weekend use must be given by CMIF staff and is restricted to experienced users who have demonstrated a high degree of proficiency and independence on a given instrument.
  • At least 10 independent sessions on the instrument are required before the user may apply for after-hours privilege.
  • Maximum Scheduled Time. Peak/Day-time hours are weekdays, 9am-5pm. Instruments can only be booked for a maximum of 3 hours per session and 15 hours per week during peak hours. If more hours are required, then the user must contact the CMIF staff to arrange accommodations.
  • Late Cancellations. Must email CMIF staff if cancelling a session within 24 hours of the session. We reserve the right to charge. Any no-shows or repeat offenders will be charged the entirety of their scheduled session.
  • Unscheduled or Extended Use. If a user is found to use an instrument during an unscheduled time or significantly beyond schedule time (including after hours), the user’s PI (Principal Investigator) will be notified, and the user’s after-hours access may be revoked at the discretion of CMIF staff.
  • Maintenance. Scheduled sessions may be cancelled at any time for required maintenance or repairs.

Samples / Hazardous Materials

No Biosafety Level (BSL) -3 or BSL-4 agents/pathogens, or radioactive material are allowed in the facility at any time.

No food or drink is allowed in the facility at any time.

  • BSL-1 Samples and Materials

    • Room 245. All rooms in this space are BSL-1. All samples must be fixed, and no live samples are allowed. Any hazardous material (biological or chemical) must be pre-approved by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety where applicable.

    • Rooms 264/268. The areas within this space are BSL-2. A BSL-2 Space Use Form must be filled out if using this space regardless of whether your samples are BSL-2 or BSL-1. Please see below for more information about BSL-2 Space Use Forms

  • BSL-2 Samples and Materials

    • Room 245. No BSL-2 samples or materials are allowed within this space.

    • Rooms 264/268: The areas within this space are BSL-2. A BSL-2 Space Use Form must be filled out if using this space regardless of whether your samples are BSL-2 or BSL-1. Please see below for more information about BSL-2 Space Use Forms.

    • BSL-2 Space Use Form: Each user must fill out a ‘use form’ to demonstrate compliance with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety requirements regarding training and documentation of hazardous materials. These include BSL-2 safety training, Bloodborne Pathogen training, and an approved IBC (Institutional Biosafety Committee) protocol.

    • IBC Protocol. Every user using BSL-2 samples or materials must have an approved IBC protocol that includes use of CMIF instruments and space.

    • Transportation to CMIF. All BSL-2 materials must be transported to and from the CMIF using primary and secondary containment that is clearly marked as biohazard.

  • Sample processing for TEM and SEM is by appointment only. Please contact CMIF staff prior to dropping samples off. Please allow two and half days before the holidays for processing. All EM samples must be fixed.

  • Contact CMIF staff prior to imaging new materials on the TEM. The TEM is a sensitive instrument. Some samples are not suitable for the microscope. Particular care should be taken with materials that could be ferrous/magnetic or volatile under the electron beam.

Data Storage & Computers

Users are responsible for their own data.

  • Collect all your data promptly. Bring a USB or use the internet following your imaging session to collect all your data.
  • Images remaining on the hard drive longer than 24 hours may be deleted without notice.
  • Data should be saved to PI’s folder. You only have the right to collect your data, do not open or view other user's folders or data.
  • Do not, under any circumstances, download/upload programs, or files onto CMIF computers. Users doing so will have access restricted.
  • Do NOT insert any USBs to the microscope computer. All data must be collected via the workstation computers which are connected to the internet. Microscope computers are strictly for image capture.

Requested CMIF Acknowledgment

Investigators are requested to recognize the role of the CMIF in producing data for publication in the acknowledgment section of their manuscript. This will enable us to demonstrate our importance to the university’s research programs and help obtain additional equipment and funding critical for meeting our user’s needs. We ask that the authors submit a copy of the bibliographic reference or a PDF of the publication for our records.

“Images presented in this manuscript were generated using the instruments and services at the Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility, The Ohio State University. This facility is supported in part by grant P30 CA016058, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD.”

Co-authorship is appreciated and may be requested in the following instances: significant intellectual contribution to experimental design, extensive analysis and/or interpretation of data and preparation of data for the purpose of publication. Authorship agreements will be made prior to the study's commencement, and no staff member should be included as an author without the chance to review the manuscript before publication.

 

***Please note that these policies are subject to change***