Policies and Procedures
Access and project initiation
Prospective users should contact the Facility Manager by email to discuss project goals, sample requirements, feasibility, experimental design, scheduling, and the most appropriate instrument. Depending on the project and user experience, work may be performed as assisted service, supervised use, or trained-user self-service.
Training and door access
Independent instrument operation is not automatic. It may be approved by the Facility Manager after instrument-specific training, based on the user, project, and instrument requirements. Trained CU users who need after-hours door access should contact the Facility Manager and provide their student or employee badge ID so access can be added to their badge.
Fees and billing
Instrument use is billed hourly or daily as indicated on the Rates page. CU School of Medicine users are billed only for instrument time. Other academic users should contact the Facility Manager to determine billing arrangement. External academic and industry users are also billed the Facility Manager assistance rate for all activities that require staff assistance.
External customers may pay through approved institutional payment methods, including check, credit card, or wire transfer, as applicable. External users should establish billing arrangements before work begins.
Scheduling and instrument use
Instrument time should be requested from the Facility Manager by email. Users are responsible for arriving with properly prepared samples and any project-specific materials identified during consultation. Instruments must be left clean and ready for the next user, and any errors, damage, spills, or abnormal instrument behavior must be reported immediately.
Samples and safety
Users must disclose sample hazards and obtain approval before bringing biohazardous, infectious, radioactive, toxic, controlled, human-derived, animal-derived, live-cell, or otherwise regulated materials into the facility. The Core may decline samples that are incompatible with the instrumentation or facility safety requirements.
Sample-specific requirements and materials will be discussed with the Facility Manager during consultation.
Data and analysis
Users are responsible for promptly transferring and securely storing their data. Basic analysis or interpretation may be included for some instruments as described on the Instrumentation and Services page. External users are billed the Facility Manager assistance rate for staff-supported analysis, interpretation, custom scripting, figure preparation, or consultation.
Acknowledgement and authorship
Publications, posters, presentations, and other research products that use Core instruments or staff support should acknowledge the Biophysics Shared Resource Facility at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Contributions that include substantial experimental design, method development, data analysis, or scientific interpretation should be discussed with Core staff when determining appropriate authorship.
Policies
Instruments can be used on an hourly or daily basis. The fees for users from academic institutions other than the University of Colorado are ~25% higher than the fees for University of Colorado-affiliated users (overhead cost). The new fees are set to reflect increasing operating costs, increasing costs of reagents, disposables and labor costs, and the increased competition for research grants from primary investigators.
The new fees are calculated based on the current operating cost of the facility reflecting similar facilities at other non-profit institutions. An internet survey of other facilities across the country (Chicago, University of North Carolina, University of Southern California, Arizona) showed that the current UCAMC rates are competitive with these facilities. The fees and fees structure (hourly rates) reflect our goal to provide the best service while remaining flexible and competitive in light of rising inflation. The fees will be reviewed annually and adjusted as necessary to ensure that income from user fees does not exceed that needed to perpetuate the service on a self-sustaining basis.
Payment Options
Customers internal to CU must provide a speed type for invoice payments. Those outside of CU may pay by check, credit card or wire transfer. Paying with a credit card? Click Here
For questions regarding payment options, please contact Shelly Fortner.
Door Access to the Core
If you have been trained on an instrument in the core facility and would like to get door access, please contact the facility manager, Robb Welty. You will need to provide your student ID or employee badge ID number to have access added to your badge.