Policies

The following policies govern interactions with the DRSC/TRiP and DRSC-BTRR (hereafter, "facility").

1. Use of the high-content imaging system (IN Cell 6000)

Onboarding and training. Potential users of the high-content imaging system at the DRSC will present a proposed imaging plan to facility leadership that includes information about the project, its scale, and its duration. If the plan is approved, then the user will be trained by a facility leader or their designee. Whether the user has successfully completed training will be determined by facility leaders.

  • Only trained users can sign up for and use the instrument independently.
  • Trained users are not empowered to train or provide access to any other persons.
  • Trained users must refer any other potential users to facility leadership for onboarding and training.
  • In addition, training on the high-content imaging system does not apply to any other equipment or grant access to the facility at large.
  • Access by trained users is limited to the high-content imaging system unless the user is or becomes approved for additional activities or access (see below).

Instrument sign-up. Trained users will be given access to the sign-up calendar for the system and following training, will be charged by the hour for use of the system.

  • Trained users must always sign up in advance for time on the instrument.
  • If a session extends beyond the sign-up time, the user must report the total time used.
    Failure to adhere to the signup system rules, including but not limited to a failure to sign up for time on the system even when the calendar is otherwise open, will result in a warning followed by loss of access upon second offense or immediate loss of action, as deemed appropriate by facility leadership.

After-hours access. For non-HMS users, access to the system during 'after hours' (as defined by Harvard Medical School or as otherwise defined by building security or our group) will require additional steps to obtain. More experienced trained non-HMS users who are interested in after-hours access to the instrument should ask facility leadership about this possibility.

Data collection and management. Data collection and data management are the sole responsibility of the user. We make no promises regarding retention or backup of your data, and provide no other data management services. We recommend that you collect your image data to an external drive and then you back up the data on the drive using your own institutional or lab data management systems. Data acquired to facility computers or any other facility-provided data location is subject to deletion by the facility at any time and without notice.

Reporting issues. Trainer users will right away report any issues encountered to facility leadership in person or by email. Reporting an issue to whatever staff member happens to be around is not sufficient. As much detail as possible should be provided along with the report of the problem, including screenshots of errors or error messages, if possible, and information about lens, colors, settings, etc. The facility will make every attempt to troubleshoot problems but cannot make any promises regarding when issues will be fixed.

Approval as a trained user with independent access to the system can be revoked by facility leaders at any time due to non-adherance to the above or for another reason.

2. Research visits to the DRSC

The DRSC regularly hosts visitors from other institutions and regions to learn techniques, access equipment not available at the researcher's home institution, and perform large-scale screens. Our primary goal for on-site research visits is to train researchers so that they will be able to apply the technology in their own labs and train others.

In general, visitors can expect the following:

  • You will need to arrange the details of your visit in advance with DRSC leadership, including to confirm project goals and visit dates well in advance of the visit
  • You are likely to arrange the details of your visit in advance with HMS administration, including by completing necessary paperwork, securing any necessary visas, and so on
  • You are likely to need to complete a Core Facility User Agreement and/or a data sharing agreement, and additional agreements might be needed
  • You will need to keep track of reagents and consumables used during the visit, and you will be inoviced for the costs during or after your visit
  • You will need to use digital calendars to book time on equipment and culture hoods, and, for equipment associated with fees, you will be invoiced for the useage fees during or after your visit
  • You will need to get training prior to use of most equipment

Details regarding each project and visit must be worked out in advance with DRSC leadership. Additionally, our institution has a number of specific requirements related to intellectual property, safety, and other topics that will have to be met. Approval as a visiting researcher can be reovked by facility leaders at any time due to non-adherance to the above or for another reason.

Please feel free to reach out to our Director if you are interested to learn a new technology from us and/or perform a high-throughput screen with us that would not be feasible to do at your home institution. We will help you figure out if an on-site visit is needd and if so, what would need to happen to make such a visit feasible.