If you are considering using flow cytometric analysis in your research at UMass/Amherst, the first step is to obtain a packet of introductory documents from Cheryl Cote, ccote@mcb.umass.edu, 413-545-2485. (This packet is provided only to personnel at UMass/Amherst.) This packet contains materials for a self-paced training sequence. Consultation with a local expert will be very helpful at several stages. As the faculty director of our Flow Cytometry Facility, Eric Martz is available for such consultation, emartz@microbio.umass.edu, 413-545-2325. Other faculty in the 5-college community with extensive flow cytometry experience include Cynthia Baldwin, Samuel Black, Richard Goldsby, Barbara Osborne, Dominic Poccia, and Patrick Williamson.
Acquiring data on the FACScan is easy. The difficult part is learning to configure the instrument correctly, and correctly to interpret the data it produces. It is quite possible for an inadequately trained user to obtain meaningless data without realizing it. For example, if the gain is set too high, the intact cells will be invisibly off-scale, and the values obtained will be for cell debris. (Yes, this has actually happened in our Facility.)
As for any scientific instrument, it is the responsibility of the experimenter to obtain adequate training, and to verify interpretation by consultation with an expert when necessary. The training you get will be no better than the expert you select. Students have sometimes limited their training to instruction by other students, who themselves have not obtained adequate training, and incorrect procedures and interpretations are perpetuated. This can be quite expensive in time for the student and in dollars for the PI.
The recommended self-paced training sequence includes the following steps:
The Facility subscribes to the journal Cytometry, and has a
collection of flow cytometric methods books. These are available from
Cheryl Cote, Morrill I, room 426, 413-545-2485.