Centre for Advanced Histology and Microscopy (CAHM)

Overview of Services

 

Peter MacCallum’s Centre for Advanced Histology and Microscopy (CAHM) underpins a multitude of cancer research projects and houses four core platforms: 

1. Histology: inclusive of wax and cryo-sections, special stains, and a comprehensive immunohistochemistry suite.

2. Optical Microscopy: houses high-end optical microscopes including laser scanning confocal microscopes, a spinning disk confocal, a super resolution microscope, a multi photon microscope, slide scanner, spatial omics and mIHC equipment. 

3. Image Analysis: Sophisticated software for analysing images.

Importantly, researchers utilising the facility receive support, training, and advice from expert technical scientists.

 

At CAHM, sustainability is a top priority! We're committed to minimizing our environmental impact and are actively pursuing LEAF certification across our platforms. We invite all researchers to join us by adopting sustainable habits in your research. Together, we can make a real difference and build a greener future for science!

Want to learn more? Get in touch with Greenlabs@petermac.org for details on the LEAF program and Green Labs initiatives.

 

Histology Platform

 The Peter MacCallum Advanced Histology Platform provides a histology service dedicated to research. 

Services and Support Offered

• Specimen decalcification
• Tissue processing and embedding
• Paraffin sectioning of tissues
• Frozen sectioning of tissues
• Immunohistochemistry
• Staining and coverslipping
• OPAL multiplex staining (mouse and human tissue)

Key Equipment

• Tissue Tek VIP 6 tissue processor
• Thermo fisher Cryostar Cryostats - NX70 and NX50
• Tissue Tek Embedding centre
• Leica XL Auto-stainer
• Instrumel GCS600 Coverslipper
• Dako Immunostainer
• Zeiss Microm Rotary Microtomes x3
• Leica RM2255 Rotary Microtome
• Leica Vibratome

Optical Microscopy Platform

The Peter MacCallum Advanced Optical Microscopy Platform incorporates multiple imaging modalities including wide-field microscopy, laser capture microscopy, laser scanning confocal microscopy, multi-photon intravital microscopy, and super resolution microscopy. The multi-photon microscope is a recent addition and was purchased alongside the Zeiss Elrya super resolution confocal microscope (TIRF, SIM, PALM, dSTORM) and the fully automated slide scanner through a successful $3.5m grant from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF). Five microscopes are dedicated to live cell imaging and are equipped with heated environmental chambers, gas control and motorized stages.

Services and Support Offered 

• Assistance with experimental design and microscope selection
• Training and support on all microscopes
• Imaging of fixed or living cells and tissues

Key Equipment

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopes

• Zeiss Elyra 780 Confocal Equipped with a Zeiss Observer Z1 microscope and environmental chamber (Tokai Hit) for live cell imaging. Laser lines for confocal; 405, 458, 488, 514, 561 and 633nm.
• Olympus FV3000 Confocal. Equipped with an Olympus IX83 microscope and live-cell chamber. Laser lines: 405, 445, 488, 514, 561, 594 and 633nm.
• Olympus FV3000 Confocal. Equipped with an Olympus IX83 microscope. Laser lines: 405, 488, 561, 594 and 633nm.
• Nikon C2 Confocal. Equipped with an Eclipse Ni-E microscope. Laser lines 405, 488, 561 and 640nm.

Spinning Disk Confocal Microscope

• Nikon SoRa Spinning Disk Confocal. Equipped with Nikon Ti-E, Yokogawa W1 spinning disk (50um and SoRa disks), environmental chamber (Oko Labs) and 2x Andor Sona sCMOS cameras. Laser lines: 405, 445, 488, 515, 561 and 640nm. 

Super Resolution Microscope

• Zeiss Elyra PS1 SIM/3D PALM/dSTORM/TIRF Equipped with a Zeiss Observer Z1 microscope and environmental chamber (Tokai Hit) for live cell imaging. Laser lines for super resolution: 405, 488, 561 and 633nm.

Multiphoton Microscope

• Olympus FVMPE-RS Upright multiphoton microscope with dual pulsed lasers, MaiTai and DeepSee, and a SIM scanner. Equipped with a BX63 microscope, motorised stage, heat pad, and anaesthesia apparatus for intravital imaging.

Light Sheet Microscope

• Zeiss Lattice Light Sheet 7

Widefield Microscopes (all equipped with DIC and epi-fluorescence)

• Olympus IX83 optimised for ultra-fast image capture. Equipped with motorised Prior stage and Ludin environmental chamber for live cell imaging
• Olympus IX81 microscope
• Olympus BX53 microscope
• Zeiss Axiovert microscope
• Olympus SZ61 Stereo Microscope

Automated slide scanner

• Olympus VS120 automated slide scanner equipped with a BX61VS microscope. Brightfield, DIC and epi-fluorescence imaging is available. 100- slide capacity.

Spatial Proteomics & Transcriptomics analysis

• Nanostring GeoMX Digital Spatial Profiler
• Akoya Vectra Polaris microscope - 80 slide capacity for BF & fluorescence slide scanning applications. Capable of spectrally separating 9-plex OPAL Polaris stains.
• PerkinElmer Vectra 3 Microcope - 200 slide capacity for BF & fluorescence slide scanning applications. Capable of spectrally separating 7-plex OPAL stains.

Image Analysis Platform

The Image Analysis Platform provides a number of high-end image analysis software programs for powerful multi-dimensional analysis. Software is also provided to design custom items for specialist imaging requirements using our 3D printer.

Key Equipment 

• 5 High-End 64 bit computer workstations
• Analysis 1 - Intel Xeon Gold 6230, 64GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro P4000
• Analysis 2 - Intel Xeon Gold 6230, 128GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro P4000
• Analysis 3 - Intel Xeon E5-1620 v3, 64G RAM, AMD FirePro W1500
• Analysis 4 - Intel Xeon E5-1620 v3, 16G RAM, NVIDIA Quadro K620
• Analysis 5 - Intel Xeon X5690, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro 4000

• Imaris (x2 licenses)
• Volocity x 2 licenses
• Arivis 
• Metamorph Offline (x13 licenses)
• FIJI
• QuPath
• InForm/Halo
• Nikon Elements Offline
• Zen 2011 Offline
• VS120 slide scanner Offline

User Group Membership

 

Ilia Voskoboinik (Chair)	Louise Cheng (Deputy-Chair)	Julie Blasioli	Metta Jana
Andrew Cox	Vi Wickramasinghe	Katie Owen	Kazuhide Okuda
Marcos Sande-Melon	Jesse Rudd-Schmidt	Richard Young	Dani Tatuka
Hugo Saunders	Thu Nguyen	Josh Hudson

 

Leadership

Nicholas Anthony - Manager Centre for Advanced Histology and Microscopy

Metta Jana - Deputy Manager Centre for Advanced Histology and Microscopy 

Contact Information and Facility Use

Use of the facility is available to external users, subject to availability.

Contact: Nicholas Anthony (nicholas.anthony@petermac.org, 03 8559 7569) for enquiries relating to the use of facilities at CAHM and project design/advice.

 

Location and hours of operation

Hours	Location
Available to trained users 24/7	Level 8

Links and Resources

PMCC Researchers, please head to our Connect webpage for user guides, educational resources, and up-to-date information.

External Researchers, can view our public website for information.

Research Staff

Head: Nicholas Anthony

Core staffs: Metta Jana, Leah Adolph, Judy Borg, Han Aw Yeang, Dhanya Menon, Basia Przybylowski, Rejhan Idrizi

 

Contacts

Name	Role	Phone	Email	Location
Nicholas Anthony	Manager, Centre for Advanced Histology and Microscopy	85597569	nicholas.anthony@petermac.org	Level 8