How tech‐savvy employees make the difference in core facilities

Abstract

Core facilities have a different mission than academic research labs. Accordingly, they require different career paths and structures.

Staying on track – Keeping things running in a high‐end scientific imaging core facility

“…55 A core facility is more than a collection of equipment or a single service -it is typically a centralised or shared resource or infrastructure that provides access to instruments, technologies, resources and services together with domain-related expertise in an academic environment, be it a university, a clinical environment or a research institute. 7,42,43 The most important component of a core is the people within it (who are also often the largest cost to the institution 56,57 ). It is important for an institution to recognise that these people are a rare breed of people with excellent technical skills who are good communicators, educators and teachers but who have chosen not to become PIs and are affected by a kind of helper syndrome to advance science by supporting users and projects.…”

“…For staff in a core facility, it is important to see opportunities for growth. 42,48 In this special issue of the Journal of Microscopy, another section is dedicated to this career development (Kerry et al planned). In the context of developments, core scientists should be proud of their achievements and consider this as part of their growth.…”

Future proofing core facilities with a seven‐pillar model

“…The 2022 article by Lippens et al details the core facility career tracks at the VIB. 15 In brief, there are four career tracks for core facility scientists: Core Facility Technician, Technology Expert, Technology Specialist, and Head of Core Facility. Within these career tracks, there are multiple levels that are differentiated by six variables: the responsibility in the function; the level of experience in that role; the flexibility of the employee; the level of independent work; the extent of the role in communication/reporting to users; and the extent of the supervising role.…”

“…community at the VIB. 15 The VIB program is a solution well structured for the VIB and, consequently, it may not fit well within other research organisations with different structures. Nonetheless, it is hoped that the VIB program will offer inspiration for other models beyond the classical research career tracks for core facility staff and be proof that the implementation of such an approach will enrich the core facility community.…”

Challenges and opportunities for bioimage analysis core‐facilities

“…Such tasks and requests can be best addressed with computational and bioimage analysis experts on site. 5 Depending on the diversity of tasks and needed expertise, single individuals may not be able fulfil all needs. Hence, there might be a need for dedicated bioimage analysis teams.…”