Wu Tsai Institute Microscopy Shared Facility

The Wu Tsai Institute’s microscopy shared research facility, run by the Center for Neurodevelopment and Plasticity, strives to make cutting-edge optical microscopy technologies available to researchers in neuroscience and related fields to further our understanding of the brain and cognition. The facility’s offerings include established technologies for ready adoption by users and a makerspace for exploring the leading edge of visualization techniques for biological samples. The facility’s professional staff trains and empowers researchers to explore deep questions through the use of biological microscopy.

The facility is composed of two parts:

1. NeuroLux, located in the Sterling Hall of Medicine (SHM B-156), provides advanced, commercial (turnkey) microscopes;
2. The Plexus, located at 100 College Street (1060/1061), provides room, equipment, and other resources for instrument development for novel or pre-commercial technology and methods. 

As a shared research facility, decisions on which instruments to purchase or what projects to take on are based on the impact such instruments can have on the broad community. The facility was founded in 2024, and since then the leadership has solicited extensive input from an advisory board composed of neuroscientists, biologists, chemists, physicists, and engineers. The facility regularly consults the Wu Tsai Institute’s interdisciplinary research community to make the most impactful investments to accelerate research at Yale.