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Copper and gold colored cells, as seen through a microscope.

Texas Cancer Cell Imaging Core

CCIC helps cancer researchers move from complex tissue specimens to quantitative 3D and multiplexed image data. We support project design, sample preparation, antibody optimization, light-sheet and oblique-plane imaging, expansion microscopy, spheroid imaging, and image analysis for studies of cancer cell function in realistic tissue contexts.

Is CCIC right for my project?

CCIC is designed for cancer research projects that need advanced 3D or multiplexed imaging, sample preparation strategy, and quantitative image analysis in realistic tissue or culture contexts.

  • Intact or thick tissue imaging for tumor microenvironment architecture, metastatic colonization, vasculature, matrix, immune context, or spatial organization.
  • Expansion microscopy or multiplexed tissue imaging when subcellular organization, marker localization, or spatial biology questions require more than routine thin-section imaging.
  • Live or fixed spheroids, organoids, and 3D culture models for drug response, invasion, perturbation studies, or dynamic cancer cell behavior.
  • Large 3D imaging datasets that need stitching, registration, visualization, segmentation, quantitative image analysis, or object-level measurements.

If you are not sure which workflow fits your sample, start with a consultation. CCIC staff can help match the biological question, sample type, imaging depth, markers, and analysis needs to an appropriate path.

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Technology that Empowers Research

CCIC provides high-resolution 3D light-sheet imaging of cancer in tissue contexts, delivering multiscale, multiplexed data and quantitative analysis powered by high-performance computing. We enable in situ visualization of cell states and interactions across multiple scales—from whole tissues to subcellular resolution.

CCIC streamlines:

  • Antibody validation
  • Tissue clearing
  • Expansion microscopy
  • Cyclic multiplexed imaging
  • Live imaging of spheroids

Fully automated operations are supported by robotics and high-performance computing.

By integrating spatially resolved transcriptional and metabolic data with quantitative imaging, and providing access to powerful, cloud-based analysis tools via a user-friendly web interface, CCIC empowers researchers to uncover the functional impact of oncogenic processes in realistic tissue environments.

Supporting Cutting-Edge Research

Operating on a fee-for-service model with robust training and support, CCIC facilitates cutting-edge cancer research across UT Southwestern and partnering institutions in Texas through scalable, standardized, and reproducible imaging pipelines that are unique in the field.

CCIC imaging services combine:

  • State-of-the-art multiscale imaging
  • Tissue clearing
  • Thick-tissue cyclic immunofluorescence
  • Expansion microscopy
  • Tailored image analysis

We primarily serve our UTSW research community, however, CCIC will also collaborate with other institutions state-wide.

 

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