[3dem] Very Vague Question

[Farzad]

Dear Paul,

We are not a facility yet, so for us things are easier: we approach data
processing as a collaboration, not as a service.

As a paid service, however, I’m not sure how this could even be feasible.
Once the sample is acquired, what follows is essentially a research work. A
facility service should be well-defined and bounded in a certain scope, but
data analysis is often an open-ended process. After initial steps such as
density calculation, it naturally moves into model building and further
biophysical analyses.

In many cases, the process is recursive, requiring repeated returns to
earlier stages such as image processing. Often, the final outcome isn’t
clear until a full analysis is done, and sometimes it even requires
additional data acquisition.

In my view, such support should either be handled as a research
collaboration or treated as a dedicated research project, rather than a
standard facility service.

To manage expectations, especially for newcomers, the facility could
provide a short document explaining what it can deliver and where research
work begins. It could include basic sample quality guidelines, a brief
outline of the standard workflow, and a note that the image processing,
advanced model building or interpretation usually requires a collaboration.
This would help customers understand the limits of the service, avoid
misunderstandings, and guide discussions toward joint projects when deeper
analysis is needed.

I hope my opinions help clarify the distinction between facility services
and research work, and how we might set clear expectations for all parties.

Best regards

Dr.-Ing Farzad Hamdi,
EM Engineer - Staff Scientist
Kastritis Laboratory for Biomolecular Research (KLBR)
Cryo-Electron Microscopy & Computational Structural Biology
__
Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (MLU)
ZIK HALOmem & Biozentrum, Room A.2.14 & 15
Weinbergweg 22, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany


Phone:


Office: +49 345 5524984
Glacios Room: +49 345 5524883
JEM-3200FSC Room: +49 345 5524868

web (Lab): https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://blogs.urz.uni-halle.de/kastritislab/__;!!Mih3wA!G5962IND26J7a72CjWW6gEo74CpHBAtmvReE2_yp-8_FLoCzHjVsi0pnVoMc4wFHOj7tOMJ5eIzudX2nxQ$ 

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On Tue, Aug 12, 2025, 15:45 Chipman,Paul via 3dem <3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>
wrote:

> Hi All,
>
>
>
> We recently acquired a TFS Glacios and have started to pump out large
> amounts of data.  Many of our customers are completely unfamiliar with
> image processing.  I’m interested to hear how any other core facilities or
> similar have dealt with this issue.  Since we are an expected revenue
> neutral core I’m a bit challenged on how to best help our users.  Should we
> hire someone to deal with processing? What would be an expected salary?
> Post doc?  We have a bioinformatics core that might be helpful as well or
> positioned to have a joint appointment.  Just looking for thoughts.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Paul
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>
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