Charges and booking
Charges
The AIF is a small research facility and can be found under 'Research facilities' in Worktribe for grant applications. Search in Worktribe for "AIF Advanced Imaging" or "AIF Vectra Polaris", depending on the type of imaging you want to include in your grant application. Please, take care that the total cost in Worktribe reflects the costs as given below.
We have to charge for use of the microscopes to cover the running, maintenance and salary costs of the imaging facility. Please note that internal charges only cover part of the full running costs; the AIF is still subsidised by the College of Life Sciences.
Charges since 1 March 2024. Charges are by financial year (August to July) and for internal use only. The price cap is only active for members/grants of the College of Life Sciences.
| User | Cost |
| Postdoc/non-student | £52.00 per hour with a maximum of £5200 per year for new grant applications. |
| Undergraduate student | £5 per hour with a maximum of 10% of bench fees (£50) - maximum only for College of Life Sciences students. |
| Postgraduate student | £5 per hour with a maximum of 10% of bench fees (£50) - maximum only for College of Life Sciences students. |
| PhD student | £10 per hour with a maximum of 10% of bench fees for a standard PhD, which includes a bench fee - maximum only for College of Life Sciences students. £20 per hour if you apply for your own PhD grant funding to a funding body. |
| Akoya Vectra Polaris slide scanner/all users | £16 per hour; no maximum. The charges are independent of charges for use of other microscope systems in the AIF and subject to change. For large projects, please contact Dr Kees Straatman. On Worktribe look for: 'AIF Vectra Polaris slide scanner'. |
| Akoya Phenocycler-Fusion/all users | £16 per hour + costs for consumables; no maximum. These charges are independent of charges for use of other microscope systems in the AIF and subject to change. Please contact Dr Kees Straatman to discuss project. |
| Image analysis | £5 per hour when data is analysed NOT acquired in the facility. |
Parties interested in use of our equipment from outside the University of Leicester, please contact the facility manager Dr Kees Straatman for information and pricing.
There are special circumstances where alternative charges apply. For example: to obtain preliminary data for a grant application or to finish an article after the grant has finished. Users who want to make use of this possibility are asked to write a short proposal.