Research Flow Cytometry Facility
Education and Training

Education & Training

To be trained and use any of our instruments, you MUST have access to Stratocore. To create a Stratocore account, please go to this link. To add a budget number, request it under your "Profile" tab in Stratocore. You will need this account and the budget number to access the training form available under the “Request” tab in Stratocore. You will need to submit a form for each instrument you want to be trained (conventional, spectral, ImageStream, or sorting training/consultation).

When filling out that form, you will need to provide your IBC protocol number and date of expiration. You MUST have “Research Flow Core” selected as a core facility to be used on your IBC. If you need to sort with us, you will also need to have “Flow Cytometry Sorting of Unfixed Samples” selected under “Types of Manipulation/Experiments Planned” and provide an explanation of sorting needs.

Conventional Analyzer Training

Online Training

New users need to complete five online classes prior to the hands-on training on our BD FACSCanto and / or Fortessa and / or A5.

  1. Laser Safety - Research Flow Cytometry Facility (TS_08115) is a 10-minute class on safety procedures for working with lasers.
  2. RFCC Course 1 (RS_07456) is a two-hour class covering instrument components, analysis, compensation and experimental basics.
  3. RFCC Course 2 Policies and Procedures (RS_07855) is a 30-minute class on Policies of the RFCF.
  4. RFCC Course 3 Software Overview (RS_07839) is a 20-minute class on the BD FACSDiva Software.
  5. RFCC Course 4 Running Experiment (RS_08244) is a 40-minute class on running an experiment in BD FACSDiva Software.

If you have already been trained on one of our other instruments, you don’t need to take the course(s) associated with that instrument again.

For Cincinnati Children's users, register for Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility and RFCC Course 1 to 4 on ELM by going to CenterLink>MyHub>MyLearning>Search Learning>Type “RFCC” or the course title in search bar. When completed, you will receive a confirmation email from ELM for each course.

For external users, listen to the four classes below and take the quiz associated:

Hands-On Training

After completing the classes, users must submit an “Analyzer Training Form” under the “Request” tab in Stratocore to schedule a hands-on training. When filling out the form, you will need to submit the appropriate email confirming passing the courses if requested.

The hands-on training is two hours for the first instrument. If you want to be trained on two or three BD instruments (FACSCanto, Fortessa or A5), a 30-minute extra training will be needed for each extra instrument.

Online Training

New users need to complete the Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility (TS_08115) and the RFCC Course 1 - Introduction (RS_07456), a two-hour online class covering instrument components, analysis, compensation and experimental basics. If you have already been trained on one of our other instruments, please let us know as you don’t need to retake those classes.

For Cincinnati Children's users, register for Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility and the Introduction to Flow Cytometry class (RFCC Course 1) on ELM by going to CenterLink>MyHub>MyLearning>Search Learning>Type “RFCC” or the course title in search bar. When completed, you will receive a confirmation email from ELM for the class.

For external users, listen to the class below and take the quiz associated

  • Laser Safety- Research Flow Cytometry Facility
    • Send an email to Krystal Seger for the class and quiz. Complete the quiz and send it back to Krystal. You will need to answer at least 90% of the questions correctly to pass this course.
  • Course 1:

Hands-On Training

After completing the class, users must submit an “Analyzer Training Form” under the “Request” tab in Stratocore to schedule a 2-hour hands-on training session. When filling out the form, you will need to submit the emails confirming passing the courses if requested. We will send you the link to a video. Please watch it and contact Celine Silva Lages to schedule a 30-minute meeting to review any questions. After that meeting, we will schedule a time for your hands-on training on the instrument.

Online Training

New users need to complete the Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility (TS_08115) and the RFCC Course 1 Introduction (RS_07456), a two-hour class covering instrument components, analysis, compensation and experimental basics. If you have already been trained on one of our other instruments, please let us know as you don’t need to take this class again. If you have already been trained on one of our other instruments, you don’t need to retake those classes.

For Cincinnati Children's users, register for Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility and the Introduction to Flow Cytometry (RFCC Course 1) on ELM by going to CenterLink>MyHub>MyLearning>Search Learning>Type “RFCC” or the course title in search bar. When completed, you will received a confirmation email from ELM for the class.

For external users, listen to the class below and take the quiz associated

  • Laser Safety- Research Flow Cytometry Facility
    • Send an email to Krystal Seger for the class and quiz. Complete the quiz and send it back to Krystal. You will need to answer at least 90% of the questions correctly to pass this course.
  • Course 1:

Hands-On Training

After completing the class, users must submit an “Analyzer Training Form” under the “Request” tab in Stratocore to schedule a 2-hour hands-on training session. When filling out the form, you will need to submit the email confirming passing the courses if requested.

Prior to using our cell sorting services, new users (including those isolating and / or staining the cells) need to, in this order:

  1. Take three online classes.
    • Laser Safety – Research Flow Cytometry Facility (TS_08115) is a 10-minute class on ELM covering laser safety.
    • RFCC Course 1 – Introduction (RS_07456) is a two-hour class covering instrument components, analysis, compensation and experimental basics.
    • RFCC Course 10 - Introduction to Cell Sorting (RS_07855) is a one-hour class covering sorter principles, sample preparation, setting up a sort, collecting cells and preparation for a sorting appointment.
  2. If you have already been trained on one of our other instruments, you don’t need to retake the Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility or Course 1 - Introduction to Flow Cytometry.
    For Cincinnati Children's users, register for those classes (Laser Safety– Research Flow Cytometry Facility, RFCC Course 1 and RFCC Course 10) on ELM by going to CenterLink>MyHub>MyLearning>Search Learning>Type “RFCC” or the course title in search bar. When completed, you will receive a confirmation email from ELM for each course.
    For external users, listen to the class below and take the quiz associated.
    • Laser Safety- Research Flow Cytometry Facility
      • Send an email to Krystal Seger for the class and quiz. Complete the quiz and send it back to Krystal. You will need to answer at least 90% of the questions correctly to pass this course.
    • Course 1:
    • Course 10
    • Courses 1 and 10 Quiz: Send an email to Ken Quayle to receive a copy of the quiz associated with each course. Fill them out and send them back. You will need to answer at least 80% of the questions correctly for each part to be able to schedule a sorting consultation.
  3. Read the Cell Sorting Guidelines, our policies and how to estimate the needed time for a staff-operated sort.
  4. Schedule a consultation by filling out a “Cell Sorter Training/Consultation Form” under the “Request” tab in Stratocore. You will need to submit the confirmation emails if requested. During the consultation, we will determine if you need staff-operated sorts or can be trained to use the sorters. For those who would like to sort independently, experienced users can be trained on the SH800, MA900, Bigfoot (24/7 access), or on the BD sorters for regular and after-hours access. Potential trainees must be permanent employees, have good knowledge of flow cytometry, and be a regular cell sorting client.

FlowJo is a software used for the analysis of flow cytometry data. Training on the software by our RFCF staff is offered at three separate levels depending on the needs of the user.

  • Basic conventional training includes an overview of the software, importing files, compensation, gating, using the experiment lay out and exporting statistics.
  • Basic spectral training includes the same type of information provided during the basic conventional training but will be more specific for data coming from a spectral analyzer and will also include unmixing.
  • High-parameter training includes how to configure R to use FlowJo plugins, data cleanup steps and pre-processing, creating a tSNE and using plugins such as UMAP and FlowSOM.

The Ohio River Valley Cytometry Association (ORVCA) and the Research Flow Cytometry Facility (RFCF) organize monthly meetings featuring lectures to educate and inform the local community on applications and products used in cytometry.  Email notifications are sent to users via the Research Flow Core email list and to non-RFCF users via the ORVCA email list.

Each year ORVCA and the RFCF organize the Imaging and Cytometry Research Day to bring education and awareness to the scientific community on cytometric applications and developing technologies.  Please visit the ORVCA website for more details.  For updates, sign up for the ORVCA email list.

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