Core facilities

A core facility has a servicefunction and brings together complementary scientific research infrastructure and/or expertise in an overarching unit, generating greater capacity and impact. Since they make state-of-the-art infrastructure and/or highly specialized expertise available to other researchers, preferably at an international level, core facilities are levers for scientific research. Through their professional service they help UAntwerp researchers to conduct excellent academic research. The core facilities have a broad and international network and ensure visibility of their expertise and infrastructure, so that also third parties can make frequent use of it.

UAntwerp finances the core facilities with an annual basic funding to support and recognize their important service function.

Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy (ACAM)

This core facility houses the expertise and infrastructure for imaging within cell and molecular biological research, with a focus on histological techniques. In addition to instruments for optical and electron microscopy the facility has equipment for cryo- and ultramicrotomy, and electrophysiology.

Antwerp Text Mining Centre (TEXTUA)

The mission of TEXTUA is to provide scalable solutions to researchers from any scientific discipline that wants to analyze and use large amounts of textual data, including automatically transcribed speech, written text in images, and images automatically described in text. TEXTUA bundles the unique existing expertise in digital text analysis at UAntwerp with special emphasis on explainable AI and provides the capacity to support the growing number of interdisciplinary queries that reach us today.

Biobank

Biobank Antwerp manages a large collection of human body material coming from the University of Antwerp and the UZA. Biobank works according to standard procedures (SOPs) for the collection, processing and storage of high-quality frozen and fixed tissue and samples of body fluids. The bank has storage space for temperatures down to -180°C and an automatic cryogenic biobank storage system. Biological samples can be requested in the context of scientific research.

BIOMedical Informatics Network Antwerpen (BIOMINA)

The mission of BIOMINA as a core facility is to provide a professional bioinformatics service by building a sustainable support, training, and collaboration model, by increasing bioinformatics capacity to meet growing demands and by building a strong bioinformatics community. It is proposed by complementary PIs in the field, to translate the available bioinformatics strengths to support biomedical, clinical, biological, and bioengineering labs within UAntwerp and external clients in hospitals and industry.

CalcUA

CalcUA stimulates the use of scientific and technical computing by providing access to state-of-the art computer hardware infrastructure. It shares knowledge, expertise, and training on the efficient use of this hardware in combination with the best available algorithms. In this way users can take advantage of the latest possibilities of scientific and technical computing in their research and R&D

Centre for Proteomics (CfP)

CfP focuses on the multidisciplinary field of proteomics and is made up of a consortium of research groups with complementary expertise. The facility has an extensive state of the art instrumentation for liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The range of services ranges from structure elucidation (including PTMs) to quantitative proteomics (with or without labels), from small molecules to larger polymers and proteins, from simple to complex mixtures.

DynXlab: Center for 4D quantitative X-ray imaging and analysis (DynXlab)

This core facility integrates top quality infrastructure and unique expertise in X-ray imaging for the reconstruction, processing and analysis of dynamic 3D scenes. It utilizes complementary platforms for 4D X-ray imaging, including an ultra-flexible and multi-modal X-ray CT system (FleXCT) and a stereoscopic high-speed X-ray videography system (3D2YMOX). The facility offers customized services for image acquisition-reconstruction and analysis for both industrial and (in-vivo) biological studies.

Scientific supervisor: Prof. dr. Jan Sijbers

​Website​

Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core Facility UAntwerpen (FACSUA)

The ambition of the Laboratory for Experimental Hematology is to make basic and advanced flow cytometry available for all active and prospective users at the AUHA in order to leverage qualitative cell biological and (pre)clinical cellular research, provide qualitative education covering flow cytometry and its applications over multiple faculties and to provide external service using flow cytometry as a basis, both intellectually as well as practically.

Molecular Imaging Center Antwerp - Bio-Imaging Lab (MICA-BIL)

This core facility brings together key preclinical imaging expertise and facilities within the UAntwerp. The equipment makes it possible to make virtual sections through a living laboratory animal enabling to quantitatively monitor various anatomical, morphological, physiological and molecular processes over time in the same animal. In addition to the in‐vivo multi‐modal imaging systems, there is also access to a Bioluminescence/Fluorescence camera, animal monitoring, microsurgery and a radioprotected laboratory animal animalarium.

Neuromics Support Facility (NSF)

This facility provides services and training in the fields of genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, bioinformatics, histology and cellular imaging. NSF's responsibilities include evaluation of new scientific and commercial tools and technologies, consultations, user training, and experiment design support.

The Antwerp Social Lab (tASL)

The Antwerp Social Lab merges the expertise, networks and a portfolio of research projects in which a wide variety of state-of-the-art psychophysiological and behavioral research measures are employed. The Antwerp Social Lab currently houses state-of-the art infrastructure such as eyetracking to study attention and cognitive processing and electrodermal activity (sweat reactions), facial EMG (activation of facial muscles) and heart rate to capture affective processes such as stress and interest.