Abstract
Core facilities are an essential resource in research institutes. They provide dedicated expertise and the instrumentation necessary for the development and improvement of science in academia. However, establishing a new microscopy core facility in a competitive environment like Harvard Medical School is not extent of challenges. In most cases it requires the creation of dedicated spaces, which are hard to come by and/or expensive to renovate, to host the instruments, and attracting users to obtain a solid user base is essential for the success of the core. Our imaging core, MicRoN, was created as a decentralized or floating core. Microscopes from different departments and from individual labs are managed and maintained by the core, but hosted in their original locations: 6 different microscopy rooms embedded within three departments at Harvard Medical School. This approach leverages the existing departmental microscopes that are traditionally poorly maintained and lab-owned, which tend to be under-utilized and lack necessary upgrades. Importantly, the decentralized core generates greater interaction among trainees from the different Departments and encourages a more collaborative environment. We believe our example serves as a new model for how Departments and Institutions can create an imaging core with a relatively modest initial investment.