St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is grateful for the financial assistance of DJH Foundation, who has funded the acquisition of a high-resolution digital camera for our electron microscope and the upgrade of a Nikkon inverted microscope in our Cell and Tissue Imaging Center.

Genetic and molecular biology have advanced cancer research, but electron microscopy is important to scientists to look inside a cell or follow pathways to understand the entire course of biological events leading to a specific outcome. The generous gift of the DJH Foundation helped support expansion of the Electron Microscopy facility in 2009, which greatly improved our ability to meet scientists’ needs. Last year, the facility took 11,000 images, which were used in 13 different publications, with the new 11 megapixel AMT digital camera. The Electron Microcopy facility at St. Jude served 15 departments and began just under 200 projects in 2009, including the production of 869 samples and over 5,000 blocks.

A shared resource available to all St. Jude researchers, the facility is a vivid example of our “bench-to-bedside” strategy, encouraging teamwork across many disciplines to overcome catastrophic childhood diseases. St. Jude deeply appreciates the support of DJH Foundation for this invaluable shared resource.