Quarter 4 Newsletter 2023

Highlights of 2023

Looking back over 2023, we are proud to have supported a broad spectrum of research both inside and outside Cardiff University, by undertaking service work and supporting users whilst they access our facilities.

We are also proud of our Quality Management certifications this year and our continued commitment to provide training on specialised technologies. Read on to find out more about these activities!

Quality Management Update

Following external audits in March and June respectively, we are pleased to have maintained our ISO 9001 certification and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) accreditation.

Our ISO 9001 certification confirms that our Quality Management System continues to demonstrate its ability to provide services that consistently meet customer and regulatory requirements. We remain the only UK Multi-Core Facility to have this certification, supporting both our Cardiff University users and external customers.

Our GCLP accreditation complements our ISO 9001 certification and confirms our ability to undertake clinical trials assay work.

We continue to encourage Cardiff University researchers and businesses to contact us about our services and Quality Management advice.

Training on Specialised Technologies

We have arranged a wide range of training sessions on specialised technologies throughout 2023.

Thanks to the many of you who attended our training events this year, including the Thermo Fisher Gene Expression workshop, Flow Cytometry courses by InCytometry and the seminars on the BD FACSymphony™ A3 Cell Analyzer and Nanostring GeoMX Digital Spatial Profiler (which complements the Nanostring nCounter in CBS).

We also enjoyed welcoming researchers to our lab to learn about Biacore surface plasmon resonance technology and supported the 10x Genomics User Day at Cardiff University.

Please continue to talk to us or email us to learn about these technologies, how to access them and how they can support your research. Also do contact us if you have missed any of these training sessions and want to learn about them; we have many presentations in our CBS Technical Library which we can give you access to.

Back to networking through MediWales!

We are pleased to return as members of MediWales, the Life Science Network for Wales. We have welcomed being able to promote CBS and Cardiff University whilst networking to learn about support, funding options, technologies and trends in our region and beyond.

Looking forward to 2024...

We continue to encourage Cardiff University researchers and external businesses to contact us about our services and quality management advice.

We will hold a range of technical training events in 2024, some face-to-face and some virtual, some free and some on a cost recovery basis, to support researchers as much as we can. Please continue to check our website and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for details of upcoming events, many of these being open to both internal and external researchers.

Calling all Cardiff University Flow Cytometrists!

We are supporting the School of Medicine Research Infrastructure Oversight Group (RIOG) with the formation of a Cardiff University Flow Cytometry Specialists Network. The aims of this network are for Flow Specialists to share technological insights and best practices, offer improved instrument resilience where possible, coordinate flow cytometry training and enable even better support for researchers using flow cytometry.

This Cardiff University Network will be a key part of the GW4 Flow Cytometry Network that will have their Inaugural Meeting at Exeter University on 25th April (details yet to be released)

Please contact us if you would like to join or learn more about this exciting new initiative.

UK Technology Specialists Network (UK TSN)

The UK TSN is a new network which has been set up to bring together technology specialists from across the UK, to learn new ways of working, share knowledge and insights to support colleagues in similar roles. This network held its Inaugural Meeting last Spring in Edinburgh.

The next UK TSN Conference is in Bath (16-17 April 2024) and promises to be an excellent networking opportunity for Technology Specialists and other interested colleagues.

Click here to find out more about this powerful new network, including how to join and how to register for the (free!) conference.