General guidelines

• We encourage an initial project discussion with prospective users and their supervisors so we can better understand microscopy needs and offer tailored advice.
• An introduction by ALMF staff is mandatory before using any ALMF system.
• If you do not remember how to operate a system you were trained on, please contact the ALMF team for guidance.
• The ALMF working environment is BSL1 (biosafety level 1). If you need to work with BSL2 organisms, please contact us and the Health & Safety Office well in advance.
• We charge an hourly usage fee. Click here for detailed information on internal and external usage fees.
• If you publish work supported by the ALMF e.g by using one or more ALMF microscopes, image analysis, or data analysis support, it is obligatory to include this sentence in the acknowledgement (also see the EMBL Publication Policy):

We thank the Advanced Light Microscopy Facility (ALMF) at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and [COMPANY OF USED EQUIPMENT] for support.

Booking

• Booking a microscope before use is mandatory.
• You are responsible for the system during your booking period.
• Delete your booking if you will not use your slot. If cancelling the last booking of the day, ensure that the system is switched off, as the previous user may finish before your cancellation.
• Do not reserve systems more than 2 weeks in advance.
• You may book up to 4 hours per day, or schedule long-term experiments between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m., as well as on weekends. Please don’t forget to switch off devices not needed during long-term experiments like the HBO lamp on confocal systems.

Data

• All data acquired on ALMF microscopes must be transferred to your group server at the end of your session.
• If you need assistance with data transfer, please contact us.
• Data stored on microscope computers may be deleted at any time.