ZEISS supports new EMBL Imaging Centre with solutions for correlative microscopy
A foundation stone ceremony for the new EMBL Imaging Centre, located on the campus of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, took place on 1st April 2019. The new facility will give researchers access to the most modern microscopy technologies available. It is made possible by a collaboration between the German Federal Government (BMBF), the State of Baden-Württemberg (MWK), EMBL, and by further contributions from several industry partners. The EMBL Imaging Centre will open in 2021.
On 1 April 2019 the Foundation Stone Ceremony of the EMBL Imaging Centre took place. Representatives of EMBL and all involved partners took place in the ceremony. Photo: EMBL
The new EMBL Imaging Centre will be for state-of-the-art high and ultra-high resolution electron and light microscopy techniques, including new developments not yet commercially available. As one of the cooperation partners, ZEISS is providing solutions for correlative microscopy.
The heart of the centre consists of several high-end electron and light microscopes. Among them are microscopes – co-developed at EMBL – specifically configured for linking light and electron microscopy. The combination of these two very different microscopy techniques enables scientists to bring together functional and structural information to gain new insights.
Rendering of the new EMBL Imaging Centre. Credit: gerstner architekten, Heidelberg/Render Vision
The new centre will be open to up to 300 visiting researchers per year. This means EMBL’s expertise in imaging technologies and data analysis will pass on to other locations, promoting scientific discovery in EMBL’s member states and beyond. As such, the EMBL Imaging Centre will function as a training facility for the most advanced imaging technologies. Highly qualified experts from EMBL will not only provide training on the microscopes but also on sample preparation and data analysis, tailored to the needs of visiting researchers. An additional aim of the centre is to develop the next generation of imaging technologies for life science applications in close cooperation with industrial partners.
“EMBL was set up in order to promote molecular biology across Europe, and to be a centre of excellence for Europe’s leading young molecular biologists,” said EMBL Director General Edith Heard. “Training, technology development and providing services to scientists are important aspects of our mission. The new EMBL Imaging Centre embodies this mission and extends it to users not only from Europe but from all over the world.”
More information on correlative microscopy from ZEISS
For more than 40 years, EMBL has performed fundamental research in the molecular life sciences and developed new technologies to further this research. EMBL presently hosts more than 85 highly interdisciplinary research groups across its six sites in Europe. EMBL, which is currently supported by 26 member states, is one of the cradles of the current revolution in light and electron microscopy.