OHSU and FEI to Establish Living Lab for Cell Biology to Study Cancer and AIDS

Scientific instruments company FEI has entered into a partnership with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to establish the OHSU/FEI Living Lab for Cell Biology that will have advanced electron microscopes to enhance knowledge about lethal diseases such as AIDs and cancer and their treatment.

The OHSU/FEI Living Lab will feature sophisticated devices such as a Helios NanoLab DualBeam and a Titan Krios transmission electron microscope from FEI. OHSU’s Joe Gray, a well-known genomic and cancer scientist, will run the advanced laboratory. The sophisticated lab will allow Gray and other OHSU researchers to view cell structure at an unprecedented level of detail. They can also study the functional behavior of cancer cells as they spread from the originating site to other body parts.

The partnership will also assist FEI to improve its knowledge about the overall workflow of electron microscopy in the field of cellular biology to eventually develop future-generation devices. The Living Lab researchers will also be allowed to operate the early versions of future-generation microscopy systems to facilitate the product development process. The coupling of electron microscopy with other imaging technologies, including fluorescent (correlative) and light microscopy, will be the objective of this work. This future-generation technology is being developed with the objective of allowing researchers to know the genetic mutations that stimulate cancer and other chronic diseases and their combined working pattern.