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Department of Biosciences
A researcher wearing a lab coat working with drosophila in a laboratory setting

Infrastructure and Resources

In addition to standard well-equipped wet labs, the department houses a fly lab, culture rooms for rearing Drosophila, a mosquito insectary and capacities for rearing and studying other invertebrates.

  • The Fly Lab - a shared space allowing multiple research groups to work together. Workstations are available with dissecting microscopes and CO2 supply, as well as a range of incubators for experimental work.
  • Culture room – a constant temperature room maintained at 18°C/60% RH, available to all fly workers with space for both stocks and experimental work.
  • Mosquito Insectary – for rearing and working with wild type and transgenic mosquitoes.
  • Climate controlled rooms and incubators – suitable for working with various other invertebrates such as moths, Black Soldier flies, bumblebees, spiders etc.
  • Behaviour – a range of specialist equipment allows the quantification of insect behaviours such as learning and memory, sensory behaviours and physiology, food choice and consumption, sleep and circadian rhythms or locomotion.
  • Transgenesis – a transgenesis station is available in a controlled temperature (18°C) room, equipped with Leica inverted microscope and Eppendorf FemtoJet microinjection system. A needle puller is also available.
  • Fluorescent imaging – Leica Fluorescent stereo microscopes allow the detection of fluorescently tagged flies.
  • Dissection – a range of stereo microscopes, along with other equipment, allows for the dissection and preparation of insect tissue for confocal microscopy or other imaging procedures.
  • Other imaging - further imaging requirements can be accommodated within the department’s Microscopy and Bioimaging facility, where an array of state-of-the-art instrumentation is available.
A researcher using a fluorescent microscope in a dark room, illuminated in green light