UC Davis Flow Cytometry Shared Resource

08/13/2021

The UC Davis Flow Cytometry Core hosted another successful Comprehensive Course in Flow Cytometry in July this summer, and I am happy to say that the course seems to get better with each iteration! Here's a screen shot of Jonathan Van D**e and I conducting an end-of-day knowledge check/trivia session to quiz the students on the day's topics! See you all in Feb 2022

08/05/2021

This is an exciting breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of long-haul Covid19 or Post-Acute Sequelae of Covid-19 (PASC). Dr. Patterson's team at IncellDX have identified long-lived, circulating non-classical monocytes that display Covid-19 S1 protein by flow cytometry and other technologies. These S1+, NC monocytes continually induce vascular inflammation in long-haul patients. Exercise mobilizes these monocytes, causing flare ups of typical symptoms like headache, brain fog, etc. Interestingly HIV drugs like Maraviroc and other chemokine receptor inhibitors are efficacious in treating Covid long haul symptoms.

Two new studies propose the first model for diagnosing, indexing and monitoring Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), also known as long COVID.

05/07/2021

Here's a game-changing technology now commercially available. Parse's "Split-Seq" approach allows single cell transcriptome analysis using fixed cells. Rather than using a lipid droplet to sequester each single cell with barcoding reagents, Split-Seq uses the slightly permeabilized cell membrane to retain reagents for molecular indexing and cDNA prep. Looking forward to their webinar next week at UC Davis. Workflow: harvest cells, fix, stain, sort, seq.

Parse Biosciences is providing researchers with the ability to perform single cell sequencing with unprecedented scale and ease. Learn more about how you can use the most scalable single cell platform on the market without the need for custom instrumentation.

04/26/2021

Summer is a great time to learn new or freshen up your current flow cytometry skills - join us for our online flow training course, July 12-16, 2021.

04/26/2021

Flow Cytometry training, online, July 12-16, 2021 - join us for a great week learning from your friendly core managers at UC Davis!

The UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Flow Cytometry Shared Resource laboratory is offering its popular Comprehensive Course in Flow Cytometry ONLINE again this summer, July 12-16, 2021. The course will be entirely online to ensure the safety of all participants while COVID-19 continues to pose health risks. This course combines information packed lectures and practical laboratory sessions to provide an in-depth understanding of flow cytometry. The course content has been redesigned to make the best use of teleconferencing software convey important topics in online lecture sessions and live video “labs” with the instructors. The course was successfully adapted to an online format last year and has been improved based on recent student feedback to include more interactive training sessions and additional time for review and Q&A with our students.

Don't miss this affordable opportunity to receive comprehensive training in this important cell and particle analysis technique! Additional details and tuition rates are described below and click here for registration details.
https://registration.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/events/flow_cytometry_July_2021

Discounted tuition rates are offered to registrants from our sister NCI-designated Cancer Centers – please use registration code “Ext Cancer” to receive this discount.

Hope to "see" you in July!

This comprehensive online flow cytometry course will teach you how flow cytometers work and how to design your assays to achieve reliable, reproducible results. After covering the basics, we’ll discuss advanced topics including multicolor panel design, troubleshooting, data analysis and artifact r...

02/19/2021

Last week I led the bi-annual Comprehensive Course in Flow Cytometry at UC Davis. Now completely online, the course has expanded its enrollment and improved its content to be as relevant and engaging as our prior in-person workshops. I've expanded our outreach to attract students from several National Cancer Institute funded cancer research centers and am basking in the glow of so much positive feedback. I could not do it without the unflagging help and amazing expertise of my #1 right hand, Jonathan Van D**e. We put our all into this week and it shows in the feedback we receive about how valuable we are as instructors:
Bridget — listening to her was a treasure trove of insights gained from the combination of a keen mind and massive experience. Jonathan — he translated his amazing technical expertise into lectures that were comprehensible to those of us with a fragment of his understanding. For both of them, what they shared “between the lines” of the outline on the slides was especially valuable and extremely impressive! Now I know what true expertise in flow cytometry looks like. Thank you!
Awwwww Shucks!
Next up: a repeat with new and improved content: July 12-16, 2021!

02/13/2021

https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/california-university-creates-covid-shield-over-campus-city-100710469857
Here is a 3 minute NBC News clip highlighting the COVID-19 testing program developed at UC Davis and expanded to protect the entire Davis community - great job UC Davis!

University of California, Davis made swift changes to ensure that its students and surrounding community were safe from Covid-19. NBC News Jacob Ward explains how the university created a bubble around the campus and local area.

01/12/2021

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/01/419496/invisible-stem-cells-evade-natural-killer-cells-using-immune-switch

An important advance in immunology that 1) may diminish transplant rejection and 2) could help mobilize a person's own "Natural Killer" cells to attack tumors. NK cells are potent killers - turning "on" the "off" switches that control their killing potential will likely have side effects and will take more study to be deemed safe, but this newly described mechanism could significantly improve stem cell and organ transplantation as well as cancer immunotherapy!

UCSF scientists have discovered a new way to control the immune system’s “natural killer” cells, a finding with implications for novel cell therapies and tissue implants that can evade immune rejection.

01/12/2021

Registration is open for our Winter 2021 Comprehensive Course in Flow Cytometry, ONLINE! Join us February 8-12, 2021 for a full week of training. Special rates are available for cancer researchers and industry scholarship support may be available! This course combines information packed lectures and practical laboratory sessions to provide an in-depth understanding of flow cytometry. The course content has been redesigned to make the best use of teleconferencing software convey important topics in online lecture sessions and live video “labs” with the instructors.Don't miss this opportunity to receive comprehensive training in this important cell and particle analysis technique! The course tuition is $900.00 per student. For more information, please see the attached course outline and click here for registration details:
https://registration.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/events/flow_cytometry_Feb_2021

A limited number of full tuition scholarships are available for Cancer Center member investigators (5) and School of Veterinary Medicine affiliates (2). Please see the attached Scholarship Announcements and follow links below to apply now for these opportunities:

Comprehensive Cancer Center laboratory members:
https://registration.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/events/Flow_cytometry_Feb_2021_CancerCenter_ScholarshipApplicant/

School of Veterinary Medicine laboratory members:
https://registration.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/events/Flow_cytometry_Feb_2021_Veterinary_ScholarshipApplicant/

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions and I would appreciate it if you would share this information with your colleagues.

Apply Now! Flow Cytometry Training Course scholarships for UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine researchers are now available!

11/10/2020

https://youtu.be/AHOIeO9sXH8

I have been interested in the process of Neutrophil Extracellular Trap formation since I heard about it in a seminar at UC Davis a few years ago. Turns out this is an active field of research and new discoveries point towards the role of mitochondrial DNA as the source of the net-like scaffolds of DNA and cytotoxic granules that neutrophils and other leukocytes use to trap and kill pathogens like bacterial and fungal cells. Here are a couple of interesting articles on the topic:https://www.cell.com/developmental-cell/pdf/S1534-5807(18)30054-6.pdf
and Untangling "Net-osis" from "NETS", downplaying the assertion that Netosis is a new form of cell death and implicating mtDNA in NET formation: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eji.201747053

NETs are formed by activated neutrophils releasing mtDNA and granule proteins. This process requires an active NADPH oxidase and glycolytic ATP production for rearrangements of the cytoskeleton netwo...

08/21/2020

Getting ready for the Comprehensive Course in Flow Cytometry next week, prepping for our LSRII demo lab, hosted by Jonathan Tu/Wed. All the recent smoke made for some interesting views of the laser paths, normally much harder to see but readily visible with all the particles in the air right now.