Molecular Pathology

Located in the RObarts Research Institute, this facility contains the equipment necessary for preparation and staining of a broad range of tissues, across a range of staining approaches. This centre also contains a laser microdissection microscope for capturing specific cells from histological sections.

Location & Contact

Location; Room 4242, Robarts Research Institute

Facility Director: Dr. JG Pickering, gpickering@robarts.ca

Facility Manager: Caroline O’Neil, coneil@robarts.ca

Webpage: https://www.robarts.ca/pathology/


Available Instruments & Services

 Leica ASP300

A fully enclosed paraffin wax tissue processor. The ASP300 has a capacity to process up to 300 samples at a time and can be done overnight.

Tissue Cutting

Two cryostats, three micotomes, and two vibratomes available are for tissue sectioning.

Leica Autostainer XL

Performs automated H&E stains and slide preparation for special stains. The stainer is capable of running multiple programs, concurrently, which ensures a quick turn around.

Immunohistrochemisty

The Molecular Pathology Facility offers many staining techniques including Immunohistochemistry (IHC) or Immunofluorescence (IF), the process of localizing proteins in cells of tissue sections using the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens. Localization of these proteins can be customized specifically to the researchers needs.

Laser Capture Microdissection

Laser Capture Microdissection is a method for procuring pure cells from specific microscopic regions of tissue sections. Laser Capture Microdissection allows researchers to obtain homogeneous cell types and multi-cellular structures isolated from whole tissue or cytology samples. The captured cells can then be used in a wide range of downstream assays, such as gene expression analysis, genomic profiling using microarrays, or for proteomic analysis.


Membership to Micrographia@Western is available to all faculty, students, and staff at Western University and its affiliate colleges and hospitals.

Membership is free!


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