University Core Facilities
The University of Bern provides state-of-the-art core facilities to facilitate scientific research of the highest quality. These bundle infrastructure and expertise, giving researchers easy access to research tools, technologies and services as well as the relevant specialist knowledge. They also ensure optimal utilization and thus contribute to the efficient use of resources.
The University Core Facilities are of particular strategic importance to the University of Bern and are supported by the Vice-Rectorate Research and Innovation with annual base funding. Although the facilities are primarily aimed at members of the University of Bern, they can also be used by external researchers.
In addition to the five university core facilities, there are further core facilities and other research services provided by the faculties. You can find an overview here.
Data Science Lab (DSL)
The DSL offers university-wide support and training for researchers in the fields of data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence and research informatics. Support ranges from short-term and review of code or algorithms to long-term collaboration in research projects with development and implementation of analyses.
Experimental Animal Center (EAC)
The EAC provides infrastructure and support for in vivo research and comprises: 1) the Central Animal Facility for housing and breeding animals and laboratories for conducting experiments; 2) the Clean Mouse Facility for conducting experiments under axenic and gnotobiotic conditions; 3) the Experimental Surgical Facility for experiments with surgical procedures, imaging, general anesthesia, and analgesia.
Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit (IBU)
The IBU specializes in data science of genome data and data from next-generation sequencing. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art computer infrastructure and has access to a comprehensive software repository. The Unit develops data processing pipelines and tools for data exploration and visualization. It works closely with the Next Generation Sequencing Platform (see below).
Microscopy Imaging Center (MIC)
The MIC is the University of Bern's center of excellence for high-end microscopy in the life sciences – from imaging of whole organisms to subcellular structures and from 2D to 5D visualization. The Center offers advice on instrument selection, support with sample preparation, image analysis, management and processing of large volumes of image data as well as tools and training.
Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Platform
The NGS Platform provides access to the latest DNA and RNA sequencing technologies. The Platform supports the entire workflow for next generation sequencing including quality control of the samples. It has established libraries but also offers the possibility to implement new libraries. For data management and data analysis, the Platform works closely with the Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit (see above).