The Cell Imaging Facility at Cross Cancer Institute is a multi-user resource that enables researchers in the Institute and in the University of Alberta to implement imaging techniques in their research. The Facility focuses on applications of advanced, light microscopic imaging techniques (live cell imaging, FRAP, FLIM, FRET, Fluorescence Correlative Spectroscopy (FCS), etc.) in various aspects of Cancer/Cell biology research.

The Facility was established in 1998. Various light microscopic imaging instruments are available for local researchers (including confocal, multi-photon, deconvolution, Laser catapulting and high throughput FISH system, etc.). It is supported by CIHR (Canadian Institute of Health Research) and Alberta Cancer Board. Various research projects are currently conducted in the Facility. Briefly, main focuses of the department are: 1) Tumor biology; 2) DND damage and repair; 2) Cell cycle control and nucleus structure; 3) Role of transporter proteins in nucleoside biology and therapeutics.

Bitplane software has been a major imaging analysis tool for the Facility. Beside routine 3-D visualization with the software, Bitplane software enables us to conduct many complex image analyses which are impossible to do without it (e.g. 4-d tracking; co-localization analysis, quantifying DNA damage using image based analysis, etc.).