BSL2/3 Flow Cytometry Collaborative Center

The BSL2/BSL3 Flow Cytometry Collaborative Center offers a range of flow cytometry and cell-sorting services, available to all investigators on a first-come, first-served basis. The BSL2/BSL3-certified laboratory allows for analysis of samples containing small particles such as viruses, bacteria and vesicles. The center is equipped with two advanced flow cytometer analyzers (Cytek Northern Lights and small particle cytometer ApoGee), two cell sorters (BD Melody and Coulter CytoFlex SRT), and a small-particle sorter (ApoGee Kairos) specifically designed for sorting viruses, bacteria and EVs. All instruments are available for operation by trained scientists. 

Flow cytometry has revolutionized the study of host-microbe interactions, enabling rapid, high-throughput, multiparametric analysis and sorting of microbial populations and their host cells. It allows researchers to quantify and characterize microbial adhesion, invasion and intracellular persistence within host cells while also assessing the host immune response, including phagocytosis, cytokine production and cell signaling.

Cytek Northern Lights:  This is a spectral flow cytometer equipped with 405 nm, 488 nm and 637 nm lasers, which enables flexible and high-resolution fluorescence detection. It features over 38 fluorescence channels, allowing for comprehensive spectral profiling. Thanks to its spectral capabilities, the instrument can effectively distinguish fluorochromes with overlapping emission spectra. For example, commonly challenging pairs such as FITC/GFP, GFP/YFP and APC/Alexa 647 can be well separated, enhancing the accuracy of multicolor experiments.

ApoGee Basic:  This cytometer is an analyzer equipped with 405 nm, 488 nm and 637 nm lasers. It typically includes a small-angle forward scatter and larger-angle side scatter photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) on the violet laser. This configuration enhances its sensitivity for detecting small particles as small as 80 nm, making it well-suited for analyzing viruses, bacteria, extracellular vesicles (EVs) and other nanoscale biological entities.

BD Melody and Coulter CytoFlex SRT:  Both cell sorters are housed within biosafety cabinets, offering enhanced safety for handling biohazardous samples. Each system is equipped with an Automated Cell Deposition Unit (ACDU), enabling precise single-cell sorting into plates in addition to sorting into tubes. BD Melody features 488 nm, 561 nm, and 640 nm lasers, supporting a wide range of fluorochromes for multicolor sorting. CytoFlex SRT includes all the lasers found in BD Melody, with the addition of a 405 nm violet laser, providing expanded capabilities on sorting panels.

ApoGee Kairos: This sorter is specially designed for the isolation of small particules, such as viruses, bacteria and EVs.  

Liusheng He, PhD, completed his undergraduate and medical education at Anhui Medical university in the People’s Republic of China. He then pursued graduate studies in radiation toxicology at the Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine. Dr. He obtained his PhD in a flow cytometry laboratory at Colorado State University in the Department of Radiological Health Sciences. There, he worked with fluorescent activated cell sorters and furthered research on the cell and molecular mechanism of heat shock proteins and their relationship to apoptosis. Following his graduate work, Dr. He was a postdoctoral IRTA Fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. at the National Cancer Institute, where one of his main research interests included the investigation of c-Myc oncogene transcription regulation. Dr. He became a staff scientist at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and later served as Director of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility at NIAMS for nearly six years. Since February 2006, Dr. He has worked as a flow cytometry specialist and scientist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In December 2024, Dr. He joined the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions to facilitate and direct the BSL2/BSL3 Flow Cytometry Collaborative Center.