SciLifeLab launches nine new national facilities available for Swedish researchers. The expertise in bioinformatics will be strengthened and specific investments will be made within single cell analysis, cryo electron microscopy and CyTOF-based techniques. In addition to the SciLifeLab host universities, Umeå University, Linköping University and Chalmers University of Technology will also contribute to these new facilities.

The National Board of Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab, has decided to launch nine additional national facilities with start January 1st 2015; two facilities for cryo electron microscopy, two facilities based on the CyTOF technology, two facilities for analysis of complex data sets (Big Data and Bioinformatics) and three facilities focusing on the analysis of single cells (Single cell genomics, Microbial single cell genomics and Single cell proteomics). The new national facilities will be incorporated into the existing SciLifeLab national platforms and include activities also at Umeå University (cryo EM), Linköping University (CyTOF) and Chalmers University of Technology (Big Data).

In parallel today, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation announced a generous grant of 68 million SEK to the Wallenberg Advanced Bioinformatics Infrastructure (WABI), led by Gunnar von Heijne, Stockholm University/SciLifeLab and Siv Andersson, Uppsala University/SciLifeLab. The financing enables a prolongation of the existing activities at WABI in Stockholm and Uppsala until 2020, as well as the expansion to new nodes at other Swedish universities.  

The SciLifeLab national infrastructure

SciLifeLab has nine national platforms offering technologies and services to researchers all over Sweden. Each platform has a national steering board responsible for the service offering, strategic decisions and priority management and comprises one to eight facilities. The facilities have been approved by the SciLifeLab National Board based on an evaluation process carried out by the SciLifeLab National Reference Committee. Researchers from all over Sweden are welcome to apply for access to technologies and service from the national platforms.

For more information please contact:

Mathias Uhlén, Director SciLifeLab
mathias.uhlen@scilifelab.se

Gunnar von Heijne, WABI in Stockholm and Cryo-EM in Stockholm
gunnar@dbb.su.se

Siv Andersson, WABI in Uppsala
siv.Andersson@icm.uu.se

Linda Sandblad, Cryo-EM in Umeå
linda.sandblad@molbiol.umu.se