She then moved to EMBL, principally because – like Pfister – she enjoys training, advising, and assisting other researchers in flow cytometry. Her goal was to establish a reliable model to analyse the role that a specific kind of white blood cell has in the immune response.ĭiana Ordonez has worked at EMBL Heidelberg’s flow cytometry facility since 2015 but began her leadership role there in February. Before coming to EMBL, she used flow cytometry at the Centre d’immunologie de Marseille-Luminy to study a variety of immune cells – T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, monocytes, and progenitor cells – in mice. Ordonez also has a long history with flow cytometry. “At this point, I have a lot of tips and ideas, so I can really contribute as people plan projects.” “My hope is to be actively involved in projects here,” Pfister said. In all his roles, he has been mindful of end-user service as well as public outreach. In Qatar, he spearheaded the development of a flow cytometer core lab. Pfister came to EMBL Rome’s facility in June after more than 20 years in different roles in industry and academia around the world, from Austria and Brazil to Belgium to Qatar. Ordonez, who has worked at EMBL Heidelberg’s flow cytometry facility since 2015, took the helm in February. “But flow cytometers are used for looking at a variety of things – algae cells, ciliates (protozoans with hairy edges known as cilia), bacteria in water samples, even in food quality control systems to assess bacteria in milk or yeast cells in beer.” Flow cytometry and building bridges “The most classic example is when you have blood test cell populations in your blood are identified and quantified using a flow cytometer,” Pfister said. Ordonez and Gerald Pfister, the head of the Flow Cytometry Facility in EMBL Rome’s Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, agree that if a sample can be suspended in a liquid, a flow cytometer can analyse it. “My hope is to be actively involved in projects here,” said Gerald Pfister, who is the head of the Flow Cytometry facility at EMBL Rome. “That’s what makes it possible to separate out a given particle.”įor instance, scientists could separate a population of interest, such as T cells, from a blood sample containing several types of immune cells and use it for downstream analysis. “The instrument generates droplets containing particles or cells that are excited by the laser beams, measures the emitted light, and then deflects the drop carrying a particle of interest out of the stream and into a collection tube or plate,” she explained. “Imagine shining a beam of light through a stream of water as droplets pass by,” said Diana Ordonez, the head of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility at EMBL Heidelberg. The ‘fluidity’ of a flow cytometerĬytometers and cell sorters use laser beams to analyse, sort, and separate cells or organisms flowing in a stable stream of fluid. He uses the flow cytometer to sort cells before subjecting them to genomic and other omics analyses – to further understand, for example, where in the cells photosynthesis happens. “We’re just at the beginning of understanding the diversity within these cells,” Berthelot said. He is interested in whether their shape affects how well diazotrophs convert nitrogen or their capacity to withstand climate change in their habitat.īerthelot is also one of an increasing number of EMBL researchers whose work at the EMBL flow cytometry facilities goes beyond simply analysing and sorting human cells to reflect a broadening One Health perspective. That is certainly the case for Hugo Berthelot, a postdoc in the Pepperkok Team who is studying the diverse shapes of diazotrophs. In many instances, the first step of these investigations is done with a flow cytometer. As oceans warm and their pH balances change, scientists want to know more about these small organisms that make such a big contribution to our survival as a species. These special bacteria, known as diazotrophs, convert atmospheric nitrogen into the biologically usable form that is essential for all organisms to live. Throughout the planet’s oceans reside a modest group of organisms with a fairly monumental task. Credit: Sebastien Colin/Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen Flow cytometry allows him to sort the various cells for further studies. Hugo Berthelot, a postdoc on the Pepperkok Team, is studying the diverse shapes of diazotrophs and other cyanobacteria like these Richelia intracellularis in symbiosis with Hemiaulus. EMBL’s flow cytometry facilities support a variety of life sciences research, with new leaders planning to enhance their offerings
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