HRH The Princess Royal opens new microscopy centre

A state-of-the-art centre for advanced biomedical research imaging was opened today (Tuesday) at UCL by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, giving researchers access to cutting-edge new microscopes from ZEISS. The UCL Multiscale Imaging Centre, in partnership with ZEISS (to be known as UZMIC), is the first ZEISS laboratory in Europe outside of Germany, strengthening UCL's connections across Europe. UCL researchers will have exclusive access to new and emerging technologies, enabling seamless dynamic biomedical imaging across biological scales, from single molecule resolution to organelles, cells and tissues, moving from single samples to high throughput analysis. The equipment will allow scientists to address fundamental questions in cell and developmental biology, while driving forward the search for treatments for conditions including infectious and inherited diseases, cancer and dementias. Professor Franck Pichaud (MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology at UCL), academic lead of the Centre, commented: "My colleagues and I are excited by the possibilities offered by this collaboration as we continue to drive forward the vibrant field of imaging with cutting-edge technologies." Researchers will be testing out powerful new microscopes before they're released more broadly, giving them access to advanced technologies while giving ZEISS valuable insight that will feed into their development process. "We're thrilled to host this exciting new centre at UCL, to cater for the continuously evolving needs of life science and biomedical research.