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Flow Cytometry

URMC / Research / Flow Cytometry / Services / Registration & Training / Aurora - Full Spectrum Training

Aurora - Full Spectrum Training

Introduction to Flow Lecture

Before you can sign up for initial training, you will be required to attend the Introduction to Flow lecture. This is a 1.5 hour basic lecture to introduce you to the concepts of flow cytometry. The training is held via Zoom or in person (alternating) every other week.  The days/times of the lecture will be posted on the website as well as announced via email.  

There are a number of documents and resources linked from the Aurora pages that could be beneficial in your learning about this technology and use of the instrument.

Available Times for Training Appointments

The general times available each week will be listed in the PPMS request form.  Please indicate your availability from the listed options and the training team will do their best to match your request, and email you to confirm.

First Training Visit

The first visit is mandatory for any investigator that does not have prior experience with the Cytek Aurora or BD FACSDiva based instruments.  The first visit is a combined introduction to both the FACSDiva and Spectroflo software.  This session is held in a small group setting and is typically held in room 3-4103. Part of the training will focus on the interface for each software package.  The primary focus of the training will be on the steps every researcher will take at the instrument in order to create an experiment and generate good data. 

  1. To sign up for a training visit, please fill out a training request form.
  2. The Flow Core prepared training documents can be found via the links below.
    1. URMC Introduction to Flow Lecture
    2. Combined visit 1 companion
    3. Spectroflo software training overview
    4. Aurora instrument overview
  3. This is a combined introduction for both the FACSDiva (BD Fortessa/A1) and Spectroflo (Cytek Aurora) software.
  4. There is no charge for this training visit.
  5. It is critical that the training starts on time. Anyone more than 5 minutes
     late will have to reschedule.

Second Training Visit

An investigator with prior BD FACSDiva software experience can skip the first combined training visit and proceed directly to the second visit if desired.  The second visit is done on the Aurora and is run by the user under the guidance of the instructor. The experiment run will use beads provided by the FCR so no sample prep is needed.

  1. To sign up for visit 2, please fill out a training request form.
  2. Running beads allows the user to begin to learn the software.
  3. This visit is for one trainee at a time with no exceptions.
  4. It is critical that Visit 2 starts on time. Anyone more than 10 minutes
    late will have to reschedule and will be charged for 1 hour of time on the
    instrument.

Calendar Access

After visit 2 the trainee will have calendar access and can schedule/run experiments during normal business hours (8am-5pm). 

Plate Loader Training

The plate loader training is separate from the base training and can be requested after your initial training visits.

After-Hours Access

The Flow Core is open during normal business hours (8am to 5pm) from Monday through Friday, though specific instrument availability may vary slightly.

To receive after-hours access, the investigator must fill out the afterhours training request via PPMS. A separate training session (free, approximately ½ hour) will be scheduled to review the specifics of after-hours access and instrument troubleshooting.