Access & Training

All work and projects conducted in the LAF & SCF are subject to the general D-BBSE/ETH safety regulations.

For our detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), BSL-2 SOP, and other information see our dedicated Wiki page.

Quoting used instruments and methods, acknowledgements and co-authorships.

1.)                 Reporting the correct methods.

·         The correct description of the used instrument type, its configuration and settings, the related acquisition methods and also the detailed chosen image and data analysis workflow are important aspects that promote the reproducibility of published flow cytometry and imaging data. Please avoid taking shortcuts and simplifications when citing used instruments and methods as they may prevent other scientists to build on your results.

·         Our detailed configurations can be accessed through the instrumentation pages for microscopes and flow cytometers.

·         We strongly recommend asking our staff for reviewing the corresponding materials and methods paragraphs prior to submission for publication.   

2.)                Acknowledgements

·         It is a commonly accepted standard to acknowledge the use and the support of the Laboratory Automation Facility in any publication or presentation that includes data that was acquired using our instruments and services and/or was generated with the help of our staff’s input.

• All of our facility staff members are scientists. Dependent on the merits of their intellectual and/or experimental contribution to a publication they deserve to be recognized either in the acknowledgements or as a co-author as if any other colleague of the scientific community would be in such a case.

·         We like to hear also about your publications that include such data and acknowledgement statement as such references help us to secure the support and funding of our facility. Please send us the references of such publications.

·         Examples for acknowledgement statements:

a)      “the authors gratefully acknowledge the Laboratory Automation Facility of the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering  of the ETH Zurich for their support and assistance”.

b)      “Analysis code / protocol development was performed at Laboratory Automation Facility of the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering of the ETH Zurich”

·         Logo: You can also use our logo in a talk or a poster for a conference. Please contact the facility to obtain the latest and best quality version.

3.)                Co-authorship

·         Significant contributions made by the LAF staff to your project should be considered for a co-authorship on your publication according to the ETH guidelines (ETH Zurich Guidelines on scientific integrity (Integrity Guidelines), RSETHZ 414, 1. Jan 2022):

All individuals meeting all the following criteria will be considered as authors; therefore those who:

a. makes a significant scientific contribution to the planning, execution, control or evaluation of the research through personal work,

b. is involved in the preparation of the manuscript, and

c. approves the final version of the manuscript.

·         Strong cases for a co-authorship are the development or adaptation of methods, (re-) design of imaging flow cytometry experiments and engineering of equipment, automation of workflows, generation of data by conducting experiments beyond routine data acquisition,  other significant intellectual input e.g. by code or script writing or extensive data analysis and interpretation.

·         Simple acquisitions of raw data with readily available methods, routine sample preparations, instrument training and regular troubleshooting alone normally would not merit co-authorship but should still be acknowledged (see above).