The Leica Center for Excellence at Yale’s West Campus facility opened its doors on October 20 and hosted an interactive super-resolution workshop to showcase its innovative collection of microscopes. Made possible by the collaboration between Leica Microsystems and Yale’s West Campus, the ten-day workshop provided researchers with free access to the center and sample preparation guidance using ground-state depletion microscopy (GSDIM) and stimulated emission depletion (STED) technologies.
The Leica Center for Excellence provides West Campus researchers with a microscopy center that houses an expansive array of microscopes and facilitates collaboration and communication between private investigators. The concept of the new center is based on “layered learning,” which encourages a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary learning of science. According to Chris Incarvito, Director of Research Operations and Technology at West Campus, “Every researcher brings a piece of experience that other researchers can use and apply to their own research.” Incarvito also added, “the lab will serve as a lynchpin to catalyze learning and the development of new technologies” by prompting researchers to collaborate and facilitate one another’s scientific discoveries instead of working individually in their respective departments.
The collaboration between Yale and Leica is a benefit to both parties. Yale researchers can work with experts who are able to help them customize microscope designs to fit their needs. Scientists also gain access to state of the art technologies that are still in testing and not yet on the market. Leica, on the other hand, gains a direct feed into one of the pinnacles of scientific research on the East Coast, where they can learn from the researchers themselves what they need capability-wise from the next generation of microscopes. Ultimately, the Leica Center for Excellence is a step into the future of science, where individual researchers and industry will collaborate to stimulate and encourage research in an interdisciplinary manner.
